The Dodgers got MRI results on Vicente Padilla elbow this morning, and the news wasn't good. Padilla will undergo surgery in Los Angeles Thursday morning to free up a nerve that is entrapped by a nerve in his right forearm. The recovery timetable won't be known until after the surgery, but that didn't stop general manager Ned Colletti from speculating that Padilla could return before the All-Star break, per Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times:

"This came back when he started to increase his velocity the other day," Colletti said. "So rather than go through this all season long and wander back and forth, back and forth, this was the best course of action."

Padilla is expected to return to Camelback Ranch on Friday. At the very least, Padilla's injury opens a spot in the bullpen, not to mention the role of "number six" starter, whether that pitcher is on the major league roster or not. Jon Weisman this morning on Dodger Thoughts analyzed the candidates for the No. 6 spot in the rotation, including non-roster invitee Tim Redding, who is scheduled to start Saturday's spring training game in Scottsdale against the Giants.

The Dodgers are playing a pair of split squad games on Saturday, their first day on the spring schedule. Hiroki Kuroda will start the other game, in Tempe against the Angels, and will be followed by Rubby De La Rosa and Lance Cormier, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. For reference, every Dodger pitcher last year in spring training on a starter workload pitched two innings in their opening spring appearance, if history is any guide.

Notes

• Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports thinks a happier Matt Kemp will be an MVP candidate this year for the contending Dodgers
• Kuroda and Redding were among the Dodger pitchers who threw regular bullpen sessions today, along with Carlos Monasterios, Rubby De La Rosa, and Wilkin De La Rosa
• Clayton Kershaw, Blake Hawksworth, Kenley Jansen, Ramon Troncoso, Lance Cormier, and Mike MacDougal all threw live batting practice today
  
• New Dodger left fielder Marcus Thames breaks the cliche-meter in a video interview on Fox Sports West
• John Lindsey missed today's workout with a cramp in his right calf. Gurnick caught up with Lindsey on MLB.com
• Baseball America released its top 100 prospects today, including three Dodgers: No. 26 Dee Gordon, No. 89 Zach Lee, and No. 90 Rubby De La Rosa
• Check out this (I'm guessing unauthorized) Dodgers t-shirt, courtesy of Metsgrrl.com
• Russell Martin, still feeling stiffness in his right knee, won't catch in the first few games of the Yankees' spring schedule, per Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger
• Tim Kurkjian of ESPN likes what he sees in the Dodgers, especially the pitching staff.

Also, be sure to get your predictions in for our opening day 25-man roster contest