Outfielder Nathan Lukes is slated to begin a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on Monday, the Toronto Blue Jays announced prior to Friday’s series opener against the Detroit Tigers.

Manager John Schneider shared with reporters pre-game, including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, that Lukes will run the bases at the club’s player development complex on Saturday. If all goes well, the 31-year-old will be cleared to return to game action with the FCL Blue Jays.

Lukes’ rehab assignment will likely move to Single-A Dunedin following Monday’s contest, although the Blue Jays skipper didn’t reveal how many rehab games he’ll require before rejoining the big-league squad. It’s possible he could make a brief stop at Triple-A Buffalo for a few games and then travel to Toronto ahead of next weekend’s series versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The left-handed-hitting outfielder was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring on April 25 after leaving the night prior in the first inning. He also battled vertigo symptoms during spring training and to begin this season, but had looked much more like himself after receiving treatment during the team’s road trip through Arizona last month.

That led to improved offensive results from Lukes, whose encouraging surge included an 11-for-21 (.524) stretch with four doubles and six RBIs in seven games prior to returning to the IL. Overall, he owns zero home runs and eight RBIs with a .250/.286/.327 slash line and a 72 wRC+ (100 league average) across 20 games in his fourth season with the Blue Jays.

These last few weeks without Lukes have allowed rookie Yohendrick Piñango to open plenty of eyes within the Blue Jays’ brass, as he enters Friday’s contest slashing .361/.410/.417 with two doubles, six RBIs and a 138 wRC+ across his first 13 games, while also posting three walks and only four strikeouts.

Piñango is batting second in the series opener against the Tigers, hitting in front of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the fifth time in the last six games that he’s appeared in.

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