Ellis set for left knee surgery

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis will have arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, the club announced Monday night.

Ellis, who turns 33 on Wednesday, has been receiving lengthy treatment after each game this year and the knee worsened significantly when he was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on Andre Ethier's pinch-hit single Saturday.

Ellis' expected return will be determined after the surgery, but four to six weeks is the norm.

Ellis' backup has been veteran Drew Butera. A roster move will be made before Tuesday night's game, and it's expected to be the recall of Tim Federowicz.

Federowicz, last year's backup, was not in the starting lineup Monday night for Triple-A Albuquerque, where he has been sharing time with journeyman Miguel Olivo, who started Monday night and is not on the 40-man roster.

Ellis, who also had arthroscopic meniscus surgery on the same knee after the 2012 season, had caught every game until Sunday, which was started by Butera.

Ellis will be the seventh disabled Dodger this year, joining Clayton Kershaw, Brian Wilson, Chad Billingsley, Josh Beckett, Scott Elbert and Onelki Garcia.