Extended rehab assignment in store for Maybin

SAN DIEGO -- Padres outfielder Cameron Maybin will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tucson on Tuesday. He has been on the disabled list since June 12, retroactive to June 10, after damaging a ligament in his left knee.

Maybin's rehab assignment isn't expected to be brief. He's had two injuries that have limited him to just 14 games and 51 at-bats this season.

Maybin first landed on the disabled list on April 17 (right wrist impingement) and it cost him 45 games. Maybin returned for a four-game series with the Rockies, but he landed on his knee while attempting to catch a fly ball on June 9 and hasn't played since.

"He's got to get his legs underneath him and he's got to feel really good about where he is physically coming off this knee injury," said Padres manager Bud Black. "He's got to feel good about playing and doing everything a player needs to do to perform."

Black even likened Maybin's rehab assignment to a player going through a Spring Training before the start of the season. The 26-year-old is expected to gradually progress in innings and at-bats and spend some time at designated hitter and center field.

"This won't be a week-to-10-day thing," Black said. "It's going to be long ... to make sure that he feels confident about the knee, where it's tested.

"At the end of this assignment, he'll be playing consecutive games and playing nine innings and being Cam Maybin."