Ethier replaced an injured Yasiel Puig in Friday's win over the Padres, going 1-for-1. After the game, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly wasn't sure whether Puig would need to go on the DL, the Orange County Register reports. "We'll kind of see where we're at tomorrow," Mattingly said.

If Puig were to miss any extended time, obviously Ethier would benefit the most from the open spot in the lineup, though it would also provide another opportunity for Scott Van Slyke to play.

Ethier went 2-for-3 with an RBI single and a HBP starting in place of Yasiel Puig (hamstring) Wednesday.

Ethier is now batting a healthy .333/.429/.667. Puig will play every day and so will Joc Pederson, so it would seem Ethier's best bet would be a trade or a Carl Crawford slump.

Ethier will make another start in right field Wednesday in place of Yasiel Puig (hamstring).

With Puig apparently quite ready to return, Ethier will be afforded a second straight start. He will man right and bat fifth against right-hander Taijuan Walker, after hitting his first home run of the year off Hisashi Iwakuma in Tuesday's comeback victory.

Ethier will get the start in right field Tuesday.

Yasiel Puig (hamstring) is off Tuesday, allowing Ethier to slot in to the six hole in the Dodgers' lineup against righty Hisashi Iwakuma. After getting off to a slow start, Ethier now has three hits in his last five at-bats, including a double and a triple.

Ethier made his second consecutive start Sunday against Arizona and went 2-for-4 with a walk and a triple.

Ethier had been 0-for-6 coming into this one. He should be able to carve out enough at-bats to have some NL-only value, but unless Carl Crawford falls apart, Ethier's playing time will remain spotty.

Ethier will get the start in right field Saturday.

Yasiel Puig has really struggled out of the gate, so he will get an off day with a rookie righty (Archie Bradley) on the mound for the Diamondbacks. This is about as favorable an opportunity as it gets for Ethier, as it is Bradley's first big league start and Ethier had a .710 OPS against righties last season, compared to just a .567 mark against southpaws.

Ethier (arm) is expected to return to action Friday, David Vassegh of 570 AM reports.

Ethier underwent X-rays Tuesday after exiting the spring training game early due to an arm issue, but a negative result led to a day-to-day designation. Everything appears to be okay with him at this point, but he's not expected to be a starter for the Dodgers on Opening Day.

Ethier had X-rays on his right elbow come back negative Tuesday, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Ethier had to be removed from Tuesday's spring training game after being hit by pitch, but it appears the move was more precautionary than anything else. His elbow will likely be sore for a couple days but he expects to be available for Thursday's Cactus League action.

Ethier was pulled from Tuesday's spring training game after a pitch hit him in the right arm, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.

The early reports don't indicate that Ethier was in terrible pain, so it's possible the Dodgers are just being cautious. The team should provide an update by the end of Tuesday's game or shortly thereafter. With Joc Pederson ticketed to serve as the starting center fielder, Ethier will be stuck in a part-time role to open the season.

Ethier is 10-for-22 in his last eight games, but barring a trade in the next week, he'll open as a bench player for the Dodgers.

Ethier may have some trade value should the Dodgers eat 50% of the remaining $56 million that he's owed.

Ethier was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI Thursday against the Angels to raise his average to .250.

All signs point to hot-hitting rookie Joc Pederson being the team's Opening Day center fielder. A trade seems to be Ethier's only shot at regular playing time at this point.

Ethier is 4-for-11 with a pair of walks so far this spring as he looks to try and beat out rookie Joc Pederson for a starting outfield job.

Pederson is also playing well (5-for-14) and probably has a slight edge at this point.

Ethier indicated that he would like to get traded if not given a chance to play every day, ESPNLosAngeles.com reports.

There's a reasonable chance that Joc Pederson will win the starting center field job over Ethier, though Pederson hasn't been given the job yet. "I want the opportunity to play every day. My mind hasn't changed from when I told you guys that a couple months ago," Ethier said. "I felt like when I get a chance to play every day, I put up the numbers they ask of me. For some strange reason, it just happened that coming off a good 2012 season, in 2013 they took games away. You start to wonder why that happened...."

Ethier indicated Monday that he will be given a chance to win a starting spot, Eric Stephen of True Blue LA reports.

The favorites to start Opening Day include Carl Crawford, Joc Pederson, and Yasiel Puig, but only Puig is really locked in as a starter. Ethier looks to be the odd man out, but he still has a chance.

Ethier will likely be competing with Carl Crawford and Joc Pederson for starting outfield slots alongside Yasiel Puig.

Crawford and Pederson are likely the favorites headed into camp, as the former appears to be viewed as the likely leadoff man and the latter is the team's best defensive center fielder. If Crawford is healthy come Opening Day and Pederson hits well at the plate in March, Ethier probably finds himself as the fourth outfielder.

Ethier will start in center field and bat sixth Tuesday against the Cardinals.

Yasiel Puig struck out in a whopping seven consecutive plate appearances before tripling in the sixth inning of Monday's game, and with the season on the line, manager Don Mattingly has decided to bench Puig in favor of Ethier in Game 4. Ethier logged all of 18 at-bats in September, recording four hits and two RBI, but he is 2-for-6 with a homer and three RBI in his career against right-hander Shelby Miller.

Ethier has started just one of the team's last 11 games and has just four at-bats in the month of September overall.

With Yasiel Puig struggling, it's possible Ethier could see some time in center field this month, but the team appears to prefer to let Puig work out his struggles by playing every day. It's even possible Ethier could be left off the playoff roster, though it's far too early to tell at this point.

Ethier started back-to-back games on Saturday/Sunday, the first time he had done so since July 20-21.

Ethier gave days off to Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford. He's still clearly fourth in line in the outfield pecking order.

Ethier is taking ground balls at first base and could be an option there should Adrian Gonzalez get hurt or need a day off, reports the Dodgers' official site.

Ethier still has a little value in NL-only formats as a backup outfielder and pinch-hitter, so this can only help. Barring an injury though, he'll still be on the bench most days.

Ethier is out of the Dodgers' lineup again Wednesday.

With just one at-bat over the past seven days, Ethier is clearly the odd man out of the Dodgers' outfield mix. It seems manager Don Mattingly will continue to go with Carl Crawford in left, Yasiel Puig in center and Matt Kemp in right most days, with Scott Van Slyke seeing occasional starts against lefties.