Scott Elbert to begin rehab assignment in Ogden

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers relief pitcher Scott Elbert will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday with the rookie level Ogden Raptors, the Pioneer League affiliate announced on Monday.

Elbert will start on Wednesday night against the Grand Junction Rockies, a 6 p.m. PT start.

The left-hander has been sidelined for nearly two years with elbow injuries. He last pitched for the Dodgers on Aug. 26, 2012. He had arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow on Sept. 19, 2012, but needed another arthroscopic procedure on Jan. 23, 2013.

Elbert had an eight-game minor league rehab assignment in May 2013, with both Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Chattanooga, but was shut down after feeling pain on May 26, the second day of his first back-to-back outings during the rehab. He had Tommy John surgery last June 7, his third elbow surgery in nine months.

Slowly but surely, Elbert has been rehabbing at the Dodgers training facility at Camelback Ranch in Arizona, and was throwing 90 mph during bullpen sessions by the end of May.

"Scotty's on the move," said manager Don Mattingly on June 1.

The collective bargaining agreement allows for rehab assignments to last up to 30 days, and Elbert starting all the way down in rookie ball suggests that the Dodgers will be deliberate and methodical in his rehab.

Per the Raptors, the last major leaguers to rehab in Ogden were outfielder Dave Roberts in 2003 and relief pitcher Paul Shuey in 2004.

Elbert last pitched in Ogden in 2004, when he was 2-3 with a 5.26 ERA in 12 starts at age 18, his first professional stop after getting drafted by the Dodgers in the first round, 17th overall, in 2004. Elbert made his professional debut on June 22, 2004. Wednesday's start will be four days shy of the 10-year anniversary.