Elbow, Not Knee, Bothering Valentin

Jose Valentin, who has made significant strides since suffering torn ligaments in his right knee on May 3 and is on a rehabilitation assignment with triple-A Las Vegas, returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday.

But it was so the third baseman could undergo an MRI exam on his sore right elbow.

Valentin was diagnosed with a mild sprain and he took batting practice and played catch.

A sore throwing arm would put a crimp in Manager Jim Tracy’s plan to have Valentin get in some work in the outfield when he returns to the 51s today.

“It’s more like the triceps [that hurts],” Valentin said. “I played six innings [at third base] on Monday and had one ground ball. I threw the guy out.”

Valentin, 35, was holding out hope that he was merely suffering from a sore arm after months of inactivity while he rehabbed his knee.

“That’s what I’m thinking, hopefully, that’s the case,” said Valentin, who signed a one-year, $3.5-million free-agent contract with the Dodgers in December. “I’ve been through a lot of pain the past two months.”

Valentin, who was batting .194 when he was injured, also said his knee was no longer an issue. He began his rehab stint July 17.

Tracy said Monday the pain in Valentin’s elbow had subsided and added Tuesday that a sore arm would not preclude him from playing outfield.

“As an outfielder, if you have the presence of mind to hit the cutoff man and keep the double play in order ... that works for me,” Tracy said. “And it has for five years.”

*

Asked how his left wrist felt, J.D. Drew was quick to respond.

“Broke,” he said. “Nah, it doesn’t feel bad. It’s just a slow process of mobility and range of motion.”

Drew, who suffered the broken wrist when he was hit by a pitch July 3, returned to L.A. from his home in Hahira, Ga., on July 18 and started his rehab program. He is wearing a plastic splint on the wrist “for 23 hours a day,” he said. “The other hour, I’m doing training on it.”

The outfielder said he would see a doctor next week to re-evaluate it and could not put a timetable on his return.

“I’m shooting for the end of August, early September to get to baseball activity,” he said. “You never know how it’s going to react when you get a bat in your hand.”

*

Closer Yhency Brazoban’s wife Yoneidi gave birth to the couple’s second daughter Tuesday, though specifics and a name were not available.