Garciaparra is optimistic

Even though Nomar Garciaparra took batting practice Tuesday and expressed hope for a speedy recovery from his knee injury, there remained no firm timetable for the Dodgers shortstop’s return.

The recovery time for injuries similar to the one suffered by Garciaparra on Sunday -- a mild sprain of the medial collateral ligament -- is typically about two weeks.

“I’m going to let it calm down, and once it calms down I’ll be out there,” Garciaparra said.

General Manager Ned Colletti said the Dodgers would pursue a shortstop leading up to Thursday’s non-waiver trade deadline but downplayed the chances of their making a move.

“If we’re able to find someone to shore up the middle of our infield and be a little versatile, we’ll think about that,” Colletti said. “Some of the players we’re debating have a chance to clear waivers,” meaning they could be available after Thursday.

The Dodgers don’t appear to be serious contenders to land Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez.

The Dodgers never seriously considered acquiring Mark Teixeira, who was traded by the Braves to the Angels on Tuesday. The Braves approached the Dodgers about three weeks ago and asked for first baseman James Loney and a prospect in exchange for Teixeira, who will be a free agent at the end of the season.

So long, Saito?

Closer Takashi Saito said through an interpreter that his recovery from a sprained elbow ligament could take “a little longer than expected,” though he still hoped to pitch again this season.

“Of course, that’s my goal, but I can’t give you an exact date,” said Saito, who rejoined the Dodgers on Monday following a weeklong trip home to Japan.

Saito began a 10-day period of strengthening muscles around the elbow Tuesday, the first phase of a rehabilitation program that could stretch deep into next month. Saito said he felt no pain in his elbow but acknowledged that surgery might be a possibility if he suffered any setbacks in his recovery.

Saito is scheduled to begin throwing toward the end of next week.

New plan for Penny

Brad Penny’s rehabilitation assignment has been shortened from two games to one so that the Dodgers can use Monday’s off day to give Penny and Hiroki Kuroda extra rest prior to their scheduled starts next week during a six-game trip.

Penny is slated to pitch for triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday in Oklahoma City before pitching for the Dodgers on five days’ rest Friday in San Francisco, with Kuroda pitching on six days’ rest the following day.

Manager Joe Torre said he hopes the extra rest will help Kuroda improve the command of his breaking ball, something the right-hander has struggled with over his last four starts.

Short hops

One day after his eighth-inning ejection of Casey Blake for complaining about a check-swing strike call, umpire Greg Gibson called the Dodgers third baseman “a class act” and said there was no lingering animosity. . . . Given the option of taking either Tuesday or today off so that he could play all four games of the upcoming Arizona series, catcher Russell Martin chose the former so that he could catch Chad Billingsley tonight against San Francisco. . . . The Dodgers’ stadium operations and engineering staff declared Dodger Stadium safe for occupancy in the wake of Tuesday’s 5.4-magnitude earthquake centered near Chino Hills.

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Times staff writer Dylan Hernandez contributed to this report.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com