Ted Lilly may not be long for Dodgers roster

The Dodgers may be nearing a decision point with Ted Lilly, who appears to be a man without a position on the roster. The club on Saturday chose Chris Capuano over Lilly to replace Zack Greinke in the rotation. But it goes deeper than that.

Lilly has already thrown two minor league rehab starts while on the disabled list. Lilly is healthy, but just fell behind in spring training due to illness and rain, and hadn't built up arm strength. But after 90 pitches on Wednesday in Albuquerque, Lilly feels he is ready. The Dodgers want him to pitch in two more rehab starts but Lilly declined per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

A minor league rehabilitation assignment can last as long as 30 days, which means May 3 in Lilly's case.

With Capuano moving from the bullpen to the rotation, might that open a spot for Lilly on the roster? Maybe not, again per Gurnick:

Lilly said he's willing to pitch out of the bullpen, "but that's not something they'd like me to do."

"I feel good about getting hitters out, left-handed hitters, right-handed hitters, starting, relieving, whatever it is," he said. "What happens from here, I'm not exactly sure."

It sounds like we may be nearing the end of Lilly's time with the Dodgers. If the Dodgers don't add him to the roster they will have to designate him for assignment, which means Lilly will be traded or released. Lilly is making $12 million this year, so look for the Dodgers to eat most if not all of his salary if dealt. Scour the waiver wire for anyone on the left side of the infield who has recently been designated for assignment as a potential partner. No, Cody Ransom doesn't count.