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Brandon McCarthy’s long road back from Tommy John surgery has entered the final phase.

McCarthy threw three simulated iings (approximately 50 pitches) to hitters at Dodger Stadium Monday afteoon – a group that included manager Dave Roberts. The workout was the final step before McCarthy begins a minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment (with a team to be determined) later this week.

“This is when it gets serious,” McCarthy said before the workout. “The intensity increases. You get out there facing hitters in game situations.”

Roberts stepped into the batter’s box during the sim game to get a better gauge on what McCarthy’s stuff looked like and how far he had really progressed.

“It confirmed the fact that I’m happy I’m sitting here (in the dugout) and not an active major-league player,” Roberts joked of taking his swings against McCarthy.

“He threw well. … The velocity was good. He repeated his delivery. The breaking ball was sharp. It was three iings so hopefully he can add on to that the next time out.”

Signed to a $48 million contract as a free agent in December 2014, McCarthy made four starts for the Dodgers last season before suffering a to ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow and undergoing the ligament-replacement procedure. He is still optimistic he can retu in time to make a couple starts for the Dodgers before the All-Star break, a soft target he has had in mind for awhile. But one thing he has leaed during his rehab so far is that there is no sense plaing anything too far in advance.

“The farther you get in this program you realize that nobody is certain of anything,” he said. “We can think we have done everything perfect now and two weeks from now you can say, ‘We did this all wrong’ or ‘We could have taken a month off this.’

“But the way I’m going through it, it seems like it’s been a good fit so far.”

Hyun-Jin Ryu’s road back from shoulder surgery has reminded the Dodgers how useless expectations can be in terms of a rehabbing pitcher. Ryu’s expected retu has been set back multiple times, most recently when he experienced discomfort following his third rehab start in the minors. He has been limited to flat-ground throwing for the past week and Roberts acknowledged that there is currently “no timetable” for when Ryu will be on a mound again.

McCarthy has had no setbacks of that kind, though he did cut back his throwing program briefly in May.

“Everybody is different,” McCarthy said. “Trying to predict exactly how it’s going to go is a fool’s errand. You get to the next day and you change based on how you feel. You have a loose plan you’re trying to fit to rather than having an arbitrary date that you fit everything to.

“These next few weeks are when it gets serious. Once you start pitching in games, that’s where the potential for fatigue or something popping up is higher. But everything getting to that point is smooth as you like.”

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Pitching depth

The Dodgers signed former Texas Rangers right-hander Nick Tepesch and he started for Triple-A Oklahoma City Monday night.

Tepesch, 27, was 9-17 with a 4.56 ERA in 42 appearances (39 starts) for the Rangers in 2013 and 2014 but missed the 2015 season while recovering from surgery to treat Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. He started this season with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock (ironically, also the team he faced in his debut with the OKC Dodgers Monday), going 4-2 with a 4.11 ERA in 11 starts before requesting his release from the Rangers.

He allowed two runs (one eaed) on seven hits while striking out four in five iings for Oklahoma City Monday.

Also ...

Julio Urias’ parents traveled from Culiacan, Mexico to attend his major-league debut in New York 10 days ago but were not in Chicago for his second start. They will be on hand along with Urias’ grandfather for his home debut Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. … Scott Kazmir left his start Sunday in the sixth iing with persistent cramping in his left quadriceps muscle. But Kazmir and Roberts said that is not expected to affect his next scheduled start, Saturday in San Francisco. … Right-hander Brandon Beachy has recovered from a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow and retued to the Dodgers’ training complex in Arizona where he has begun a flat-ground throwing program. Beachy has twice undergone Tommy John surgery on his elbow. He retued to make two starts for the Dodgers last season but has not pitched at all this year.