ARLINGTON, Texas | David DeJesus got his chance Wednesday night to provide the Royals with some punch from the No. 3 spot in the lineup.</p><p> “I think he’s swinging the bat as well as anybody we’ve got right now,” manager Trey Hillman said before the game against the Texas Rangers. “I think you want your most productive guy in the three slot.”</p><p> That slot has, instead, been a black hole through the first 26 games. The Royals got just six RBIs from their No. 3 hitters, the fewest in either league. Alex Gordon was three for 16 as the No. 3 hitter over the previous four games with nine strikeouts.</p><p> “I think Alex is pressing a little bit,” Hillman said. “We saw it early in the season, too. We started him out at three, then moved him down and he got hot.</p><p> “If we have to do that with regularity, we will.”</p><p> DeJesus carried a .341 average in to Wednesday’s game and his nine RBIs ranked fourth on the club despite serving primarily as the leadoff hitter _ and missing 14 games because of various injuries.</p><p> “I like hitting with guys in scoring position,” he said, “but I’m not a power guy, and you want power guys in that spot. But, hey, wherever Trey wants to put me is fine.</p><p> “I’m in the lineup every day. I’m not going to complain about wherever he puts me.”</p><p> DeJesus batted third in 11 of his 518 previous career games. He had 15 hits in 51 at-bats for a .313 average with no homers and seven RBIs.</p><p> Either Gordon or Mark Teahen batted third in all 26 previous games. Teahen batted .239 in 18 games with no homers and two RBIs; Gordon batted .176 in eight games with two homers and four RBIs.</p><p> Hillman indicated DeJesus isn’t a likely long-term solution.</p><p> “I probably won’t leave it this way every game,” Hillman said. “I don’t think David is going to be too uncomfortable in hitting third for a day. I’m looking at it as short-term, but we might see something we really like.</p><p> “We’ll see what the offensive production is like.”</p><p><b>De La Rosa to Rockies</b></p><p> Left-hander Jorge De La Rosa is finally heading to the Colorado but not, officially, as the player to be named later in the March 26 trade that landed reliever Ramon Ramirez.</p><p> De La Rosa, 27, was assigned to the Class AAA Colorado Springs roster but is expected to join the Rockies in time to start Saturday against the Dodgers in Denver. He was 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in four starts at Class AAA Omaha.</p><p> The Royals are believed to have sent roughly $200,000 with De La Rosa to the Rockies, an amount that approximates the remaining difference in salaries between De La Rosa and Ramirez.</p><p> The amount of cash involved required the deals to be separate. The teams are expected to agree on cash settlements to complete both deals in the future rather than exchange further players.</p><p> Ramirez has been a key part of the Royals’ bullpen. He entered Wednesday’s game with four holds and a 0.71 ERA in 12 appearances. De La Rosa is 15-23 with a 5.85 ERA in 97 career big-league games, including 11-16 and 5.64 in 36 games over the last two season with the Royals.</p><p><b>Bale’s status</b></p><p> Lefty John Bale won’t return to active duty today, when he is eligible to come off the disabled list, but could do so by the end of the weekend.</p><p> Bale is scheduled for another bullpen workout Friday in Cleveland after experiencing no weakness in his shoulder Tuesday in a pre-game throwing session. He hasn’t pitched since experiencing a dead arm April 15 in an 11-6 loss at Seattle. </p><p> The Royals will face two decisions when Bale returns:</p><p> Does he go back into the rotation despite going 0-3 and allowing 13 runs in 15 1/3 innings in three starts? And whose place does he take on the roster? Luke Hochevar, Joel Peralta and Yasuhiko Yabuta all have options available.