With Dodger fans anxiously awaiting word on Matt Kemp’s MRI (which is quite possibly taking place at this very moment), the social media world has been buzzing with speculation.

When word comes about Matt Kemp it will undoubtedly come via Twitter.

The undisputed favorite rumor is that should Matt Kemp land on the disabled list (which I absolutely believe will happen), it will be Cuban superstar Yasiel Puig or 20-year-old Joc Pederson on-board that jet headed for LAX (or more likely John Wayne International Airport which is closer to Angel Stadium). Puig, of course, is already on the Dodgers 40-man roster (at $42 million) so a corresponding roster move would not be needed, but Pederson is not; but this could be resolved with a stroke of the pen by moving pitcher Shawn Tolleson from the 15-day DL to the 60-day. Puig and Pederson are hitting .309 and .313 respectively with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts and both have 8 home runs.

I must say that based on the recent (and sometimes crazy) events involving Dodger manager Don Mattingly over the past two weeks and his well-publicized comments about trying  to fire his last place team up, coupled with Dodger GM Ned Colletti’s recent trip to Chattanooga specifically to watch both Puig and Pederson in action last week, has me well entrenched with this rumor group.

Others believe that Elian Herrera is the most likely candidate to replace Kemp. Herrera, who has logged almost as many frequent flyer miles between ABQ and LAX as Tim Federowicz, is currently hitting .304 and has 4 home runs with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. He is also already on the 40-man roster.

Still others believe that it will be MLB veteran Tony Gwynn Jr. who gets the call. TGJ is currently hitting .288 with the Isotopes with one home run (the wind must have been blowing out that day). However, like Pederson, Gwynn is currently not on the 40-man roster – not insurmountable because of that Tolleson thing; but would the Dodgers do this for what would most likely amount to a two or three week DL stint for Kemp? It’s possible but seems unlikely to me.

My dark horse in this race to L.A. (or Anaheim) is Alex Castellanos who is currently hitting .279 with the Isotopes and has 7 home runs – one fewer that co-team leaders Tim Federowicz and Nick Buss who is (get this) the Isotopes current centerfielder and hitting .294. But here again, while Castellanos is on the 40-man, Nick Buss is not.

How will it all play out? Well, chances are pretty good that it already has, but we won’t hear about it until around 3:35 PM (depending on who has the fastest Twitter thumbs) when the media is allowed into the Dodger clubhouse at Angel Stadium today.

Stay tuned…