Dodgers trio close to rehab assignments

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers left-hander Ted Lilly, second baseman Mark Ellis and utility man Jerry Hairston Jr. all could begin rehab assignments in the next week.

Lilly threw a bullpen session Saturday for the first time since he received an injection in his right rib cage on April 30 and could start a Minor League game this week.

"I think Teddy's feeling pretty good," manager Don Mattingly said before Monday's game against the Nationals. "He's not feeling anything with his neck or his side right now. So we're moving where we want to go with him."

Ellis continues to progress from a strained right quad, but is still not running at full speed. The veteran will travel with the team to Atlanta for a three-game series that begins Friday and could appear in a rehab game during that series, possibly with nearby Double-A Chattanooga.

Hairston, on the disabled list with a left groin strain, is working out in Arizona at the Dodgers' Spring Training facility at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. He will join the club in Atlanta and could begin a rehab assignment with Ellis in Chattanooga.