Carl Crawford to make Dodgers debut Sunday vs. Brewers

Carl Crawford will make his Dodgers debut on Sunday afternoon as the Dodgers host the Brewers at Camelback Ranch. That is one of two split squad games on Sunday for the Dodgers, with the team also headed to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale to play the Diamondbacks. Both games are 1 p.m. PT games.

Crawford had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow on Aug. 23, two days before he was dealt to the Dodgers as part of the nine-player blockbuster Adrian Gonzalez trade with the Red Sox. Crawford suffered a setback early in camp as minor nerve irritation in his arm shut him down for a week.

Crawford returned to baseball activities on Mar. 7, which included six straight days of batting practice only at a gradually increased pace, followed by three days of getting at-bats in minor league games on the back fields at Camelback Ranch. The last three days have also included playing catch for Crawford, after over two weeks of not throwing.

With two weeks of games before opening day, it is unknown whether or not Crawford would be ready to play on Apr. 1 against the Giants at Dodger Stadium. Especially with the purposely slow pace of Crawford's rehab over the last two weeks. But manager Don Mattingly hasn't ruled anything out.

"It's going to be the volume of work that they're allowing him to do. We've talked before, that guys could get ready in three weeks. That's a normal guy who could take all the swings he wants, do everything he wants with no restrictions," Mattingly said on Wednesday. "That's not the case with Carl; there are restrictions on how much they'll allow him to do. That's what causes the possibility of him possibly not being ready."

Here are Sunday's lineups:

at Diamondbacks

Gordon SS
Amezaga 2B
Kemp CF
Puig LF
Uribe 3B
Van Slyke 1B
Castellanos RF
Federowicz C
Lilly P

Ted Lilly starts for the Dodgers, and among the pitchers scheduled in relief is Chris Withrow, who hasn't yet pitched in a game this spring.

vs. Brewers

Crawford DH
Ellis 2B
Ethier RF
Gonzalez 1B
Hairston LF
Schumaker CF
Cruz 3B
Ellis C
Punto SS

Hyun-jin Ryu starts for the Dodgers against Milwaukee.