Pitching prospect won’t be called up

PHILADELPHIA -- The Dodgers continue to search for help in shoring up their starting rotation but one possible option -- touted minor leaguer James McDonald -- has been dismissed for the time being.

“It’s not going to happen,” Manager Grady Little said Wednesday when asked if McDonald, a Long Beach native, could replace veteran Brett Tomko, who has won once since May 9. “If he was ready, he’d already be here.”

General Manager Ned Colletti has seen McDonald pitch four times this season, including Tuesday, when the right-hander struck out seven in five innings for double-A Jacksonville, leaving him with a 12-9 record, a 3.15 earned-run average and 159 strikeouts in 125 2/3 innings between Jacksonville and Class-A Inland Empire.

But McDonald, a converted outfielder, has lost nearly 5 mph off his fastball recently and the Dodgers are concerned about fatigue. A better option for the time being could be right-hander D.J. Houlton, who pitched 10 games in relief for the Dodgers before being returned to triple-A Las Vegas earlier this month to get in more work.

Another possibility is veteran left-hander David Wells, who was released by San Diego earlier this month. Wells, 44, gave up 26 runs in his final 16 2/3 innings with the Padres but turned in quality starts in four of his five outings before that.

“Nothing’s imminent. Nothing’s close,” said Gregg Clifton, Wells’ agent, who nevertheless said he hoped to have a contract agreement in place by late today. “We’re talking to a lot of teams. Our phones have been kind of ringing off the hook to be honest with you.”

A drawback to signing Wells, however, is the fact that he still must serve a seven-game suspension levied against him in July. That suspension is still being appealed and Wells could pitch until the appeal is heard.

What apparently is not an option is pulling Tomko from the rotation before his next scheduled start Sunday in New York.

“We’re not going to go there right now,” Little said. “He’s one of our five starters. [But] anything’s subject to change.”

Another alternative the Dodgers may have considered was taken off the table when trainer Stan Conte said left-hander Randy Wolf won’t be strong enough to return to the rotation this season.

“It would be real difficult to get him to be a starter by the end of the year, just from the number of pitches,” Conte said of Wolf, who made 35 throws at 75 feet Wednesday.

Wolf, out since July 4 with a sore shoulder, will throw on a daily basis as long as he remains pain-free, but he too has all but ruled out starting again this season.

“For me to build up my strength and get the amount of innings I need to start, I think that would be pretty difficult,” said Wolf, who turned 31 Wednesday. “Realistically, I think to help out of the bullpen would be my best shot.

“The clock is running out. But at the same time you want to be smart about it. If I have to take it easy one day I just don’t want to feel like it’s a setback.

“So you don’t want to get really caught in the calendar.”

Left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo, who underwent elbow surgery a month ago, also resumed throwing Wednesday as part of his continuing rehabilitation.

“I’ll just play it day-by-day, see how it feels,” said Kuo, who made 20 tosses.

Conte said Kuo faces a much more difficult road back than Wolf.

“We’re just going to have to go with what the elbow lets us do,” Conte said. “Throwing today was OK. We’ll wait and see and try to keep throwing if we can.

“But we’re not going to push it real hard. There’s just no reason to.”

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kevin.baxter@latimes.com