SAN DIEGO -- Dodgers reliever Frankie Montas will report to Double-A Tulsa on Saturday for a rehabilitation assignment as he returns from Feb. 12 surgery to remove a rib.
Montas, part of the trade with the White Sox that brought Trayce Thompson, could become a hard-throwing option in the bullpen, which has again become the focus after recent struggles. Montas is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list the first week of June.
Montas, 23, hit triple digits in mph during a two-inning outing in extended spring training on Thursday. In his only Major League stint last year, Montas was 0-2 with a 4.80 ERA in seven games, two of them starts, with 20 strikeouts, but nine walks in 15 innings.
"We're building up his pitch count to give us the flexibility to be a starter, but I assume he's coming out of the bullpen for us," said manager Dave Roberts. "I like hearing that he's hitting a hundred. A hundred's good. Throw a hundred with command, you can help a Major League club."
Meanwhile, pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu was scheduled to make a second rehab start Friday night for Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga for three innings. Infielder Carlos Frias (oblique) will make a rehab start at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday. Alex Guerrero (left knee) continues his rehab assignment at Tulsa. And outfielder Scott Van Slyke (lower back) is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week.
• In non-rehab news, Minor League pitcher Sebastian Martinez received a 72-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Stanozolol and Furosemide, performance-enhancing substances. The suspension of Martinez, who is on the roster of the Dominican Summer League Dodgers, will be effective at the start of the 2016 DSL season.