Beltre to Begin Rehab Today at Vero Beach

The last time Adrian Beltre was in Vero Beach, Fla., the third baseman was a shadow of his former self and shuffling around with a colostomy bag attached to his side.

Today, he returns to Dodgertown to begin his formal rehab assignment after undergoing two abdominal surgeries since January.

Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said Beltre’s workload will increase gradually as he first will report to the extended spring training squad before joining the Class-A Dodgers for Florida State League games. A stint at triple-A Las Vegas probably will follow as Tracy hopes to get Beltre 60 rehab at-bats.

“We’ve mapped his schedule out and we’re hopeful that, if everything goes according to plan, he’d be ready to go for us sometime in the middle of [May],” Tracy said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.

‘The whole key is getting him the at-bats we feel he needs to get. Basically, this is spring training for this guy.”

Beltre underwent a botched appendectomy in his native Dominican Republic on Jan. 12 and had to undergo a second procedure March 12 to repair an open wound on his large intestine.

He did not eat solid food until March 19 and lost 24 pounds.

His mother joined him in Los Angeles after opening day and, with some home cooking, he has regained more than 14 pounds.

Despite his travails in Florida in February and March, Beltre should be comfortable in Vero Beach as he had much success as an 18-year-old minor leaguer there in 1997.

That year he was the Florida State League most valuable player after leading the league in home runs (26) and runs batted in (104) while finishing second in runs scored (95), and fourth in batting average (.317) and walks (67), in 123 games. He had an 18-game hitting streak and reached base safely in 30 in a row at one point.

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Andy Ashby, on the disabled list because of a muscle strain in his right [pitching] elbow, threw off a mound Sunday for the first time since April 12 with a pregame bullpen workout.

He will make the six-game trip to Cincinnati and Chicago and though he is eligible to be activated Tuesday, the right-hander won’t start for the Dodgers again until May 8 at the earliest.

Tracy said Ashby probably would have to throw in a simulated game or make a rehab start in the minors before being activated.

In two starts, Ashby is 2-0 with a 3.86 earned-run average.

“It felt pretty good,” Ashby said of his workout. “I threw about 20 fastballs off the mound.

“Maybe next time I’ll throw some curveballs and see how it irons out.”

Depending on how the elbow reacts, Ashby might throw another bullpen workout Tuesday in Cincinnati.