Mariners optioned DH/1B Jesus Montero to Triple-A Tacoma.

Montero went 4-for-14 with a home run while up with the big club. The former top prospect returns to a .270/.345/.455 batting line with eight home runs and 40 RBI at Tacoma.

Jesus Montero smacked a two-run homer in Tuesday's win over the Padres.

The longball was the first in the majors in over a year for the recently-recalled Montero. The former top prospect has started three of six games since being brought back up and has three hits in his first 10 at-bats. He needs to be owned in AL-only formats.

Mariners recalled 1B/DH Jesus Montero from Triple-A Tacoma.

Just in time for a series against his former team, the Yankees. Montero is expected to mainly be used as a designated hitter against left-handed pitching, but he could see a bit of time at first base. The former top prospect is batting .270/.345/.455 with eight home runs and 40 RBI in 59 games at Tacoma this season.

Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that the Mariners are calling up Jesus Montero.

The former top prospect has provided reason for mild optimism this season at Triple-A Tacoma, batting .270/.345/.455 with eight home runs and 40 RBI in 59 games. He could see a good amount of playing time between DH and first base while Justin Smoak (quad) is sidelined and may be worth a flier in some deeper mixed fantasy formats.

Mariners first base prospect Jesus Montero is hitting .300/.338/.629 for Triple-A Tacoma.

Montero hit home runs in four of five games last week, and hit .347/.389/.735 over his past 12 games. At age 24, Montero is now a full time 1B/DH, but is still below the average age in the Pacific Coast League. The Mariners are getting little production out of their outfield, so if Corey Hart is healthy enough to return to the outfield, Montero could pick up at bats at DH.

Mariners optioned 1B/DH Jesus Montero and OFs Xavier Avery and James Jones to Triple-A Tacoma; reassigned SS Chris Taylor to minor league camp.

Montero showed up to camp 40 pounds overweight this spring but actually hit the ball well, batting .310/.355/.621 with three doubles and two homers over 12 games. He's probably still not in the team's good graces but has a shot to make it back up to the majors at some point this season.

Jesus Montero continued his torrid Cactus League hitting on Saturday, belting a pair of homers to lead the Mariners to an 8-5 victory over the Dodgers.

Montero finished the night 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and three RBI. He took Josh Beckett deep for a solo shot in the second inning and added a two-run blast off Chris Withrow in the eighth The most impressive thing about his evening may have been that each of his bombs were of the opposite field variety. Perhaps it's too soon to write him off.

Jesus Montero continued his hot-hitting in Friday's Cactus League loss to the Reds, going 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.

The former top-prospect caused a bit of a stir when he reported to camp overweight, but has come on strong in the past few contests. There remains untapped potential in his bat, but he will likely have to prove his worth at the Triple-A level before he gets another shot at everyday at-bats with the Mariners.

Jesus Montero finished Thursday afternoon's game against the Cubs 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.

Montero is only hitting .214 in the Cactus League thus far. No matter how he fares this spring, good or bad, he'll start in the minor leagues and try to work his way back into the Mariners' good graces. It'll be a tough road to travel.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said he has "no expectations" for Jesus Montero after the first baseman reported to camp 40 pounds over the weight the team wanted him to come in at.

"It's up to him," Zduriencik said. "I have zero expectations for Jesus Montero. Any expectations I had are gone." Zduriencik added that Montero has "a ton to prove," while manager Lloyd McClendon said the first baseman is "at a crossroads." Montero's future was already looking murky before this spring, as he's struggled since joining the M's, has been moved off of catcher and last year got popped with a 50-game suspension for his involvement with the Biogenesis scandal. He'll begin the season in the minors and obviously has a lot of ground to make up before he becomes relevant again.

Jesus Montero is currently on a weight-loss program.

"I gained a lot of weight in my country," said Montero. "So, now, I'm on a program to lose weight. I'm working really hard to get my weight back. I wasn't doing nothing (after finishing winter ball), just eating." Montero has struggled since coming over to the Yankees and was handed a 50-game suspension last year for his involvement with the Biogenesis scandal, so he's not doing anything to help his standing with the organization.

Jesus Montero will primarily focus on first base moving forward.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said Montero will likely do a little catching in camp this spring, but it's probably a waste of time, as it's quite clear he can't be relied on behind the plate. The 24-year-old is coming off a nightmare year which included a 50-game ban for performance-enhancing drugs, so his role entering 2014 is a big question.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Mariners are letting teams know that Jesus Montero and Justin Smoak are available in trades.

Montero and Smoak are both expendable now that the Mariners have added Corey Hart and Logan Morrison. Both players are top prospects who have disappointed so far at the major league level, but someone might take a chance on them as change of scenery candidates.

While in Venezuela participating in the Venezuelan Winter League, Jesus Montero was involved in a minor car accident, suffering a laceration on his knuckle, according to Shannon Drayer. The injury has forced him out of action for over a week.

Montero is getting a majority of his playing time as a DH. He was hitting .293 with a .731 OPS, including 23 strikeouts and 6 walks, in 82 at-bats in the Venezuelan Winter League. Drayer says Montero's catching days "are over".

Jesus Montero has been primarily playing at first base for Cardenales de Lara of the Venezuelan League.

The former catcher has seen his star fall quite a bit during the past year -- he hit .208/.264/.327 in 29 games with the Mariners before being demoted, and in August he received a 50-game ban for using performance-enhancing drugs. Now in winter ball, the 23-year-old is working on a position change and has regained his swing to a point, batting .306 with four doubles, a home run and 11 RBI through 18 games. Montero was a top prospect not so long ago so it's not hard to see him regaining some fantasy value with a strong spring, especially given the Mariners' current options at the position. He's a guy to keep an eye on.

Major League Baseball has handed Jesus Montero a 50-game performance-enhancing drug suspension.

Montero was involved in the purchase of performance-enhancing drugs from the Miami-based Biogenesis clinic. The 23-year-old has been a disappointment in more ways than one since joining the Mariners via trade from the Yankees. He'll take the rest of the summer off.

Jesus Montero (knee) went 1-for-3 with a walk in his seventh game Tuesday in the Arizona Rookie League.

Montero is just 4-for-19 (.211) since being cleared to play in rookie-level rehab games. He underwent surgery in early June to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and probably won't return to Triple-A Tacoma until the end of this month. The Mariners optioned him off their 25-man roster in late May after he opened the year with a brutal .208/.264/.327 batting line over his first 29 games.

Jesus Montero (knee) will serve as the designated hitter on Friday for the Mariners' Arizona Rookie League team.

It will be Montero's first game action since he underwent surgery last month to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He will not play catcher for the rest of the season and might be done at the position altogether, but he'll be used at first base and DH at Triple-A Tacoma.

Jesus Montero is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Montero suffered the injury Friday and will be placed on the disabled list with Triple-A Tacoma. It's another troubling development after he was demoted to the minors last month. The Mariners no longer view Montero as a catcher, so he'll continue to be developed at first base and DH when he's healthy enough to return.

Mariners optioned C Jesus Montero to Triple-A Tacoma.