Dodgers send Ellis to Arizona to get at-bats

WASHINGTON -- The place to be for injured catcher A.J. Ellis right now is Arizona rather than with the Dodgers.

Ellis, who has played only seven games this season due to undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, left the Dodgers for a stint at extended spring camp.

"For him to be able to get more at-bats, control the number of at-bats he gets, we can control the work and the amount that he's getting every day," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of the call to send Ellis out versus rehabbing with the club. "Then we'll just kind of decide at some point if we need to push him up as far as competition and get him in different places before we bring him back."

Though Ellis will "play all through the week," Mattingly doesn't anticipate him working behind the plate on consecutive days initially. He will get regular at-bats.

Last season, Ellis batted .238 with 10 home runs in 115 games for Los Angeles. The Dodgers have used Drew Butera and Miguel Olivo at catcher in his absence.