SAN DIEGO -- For the past month, the Padres have gone out of their way to avoid a timetable for the return of Fernando Tatis Jr.. Hamstring injuries are tricky, they said. Tatis would progress at his own pace without the burden of a deadline.

Well, Tatis must be making some strides in his recovery from a left hamstring strain, because on Friday Padres manager Andy Green offered the first bit of clarity regarding his prize shortstop's path towards returning.

The rookie phenom will continue playing at extended spring camp at the team's complex in Peoria, Ariz., this weekend. Then...

"If all that goes well, maybe at the beginning of next week we'll send him out on a rehab assignment, and he'll play some games there," Green said. "How quickly he returns will be dictated by how he performs and how he feels."

The Padres didn't give an indication as to where Tatis' rehab stint might take place, and they didn't give an exact date for its start. Still, it's clearly a positive for the club that Tatis is nearing a return to game action.

The 20-year-old shortstop was off to a torrid start when he sustained the injury in late April in Washington. He was hitting .300/.360/.550 with six homers in his first 100 at-bats.

The Padres could use Tatis' impact bat in their lineup. Since his injury, they've gotten little production out of the leadoff spot. And while Manny Machado has filled in masterfully at short, San Diego's production at third base has also plummeted because of the positional move.

Margevicius returns

The Padres will recall Nick Margevicius to start Saturday's game against the Marlins, Green said. The rookie left-hander was optioned to Double-A Amarillo on May 19, following his third straight poor outing.

Margevicius was a surprise addition to the Opening Day rotation, but he came out of the gates strong with a 3.23 ERA through April. Then he allowed 14 earned runs in 14 2/3 innings in May, as he lost command of his fastball -- making his tricky offspeed mix much less effective.

"Going down puts things in perspective a little bit," said Margevicius, who joined the club Friday on the taxi squad. “I got a little bit of time away from here to reflect on what's going on, and really think about the process of developing and the lessons I learned up here, what to work on."

Margevicius takes the rotation spot that was vacated by right-hander Cal Quantrill, who was optioned on Sunday. Quantrill would be eligible for a recall on Wednesday, and it's possible the Padres go to a temporary six-man rotation then with 10 games in 10 days.

Injury updates

• Outfielder Franchy Cordero began his rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso on Friday night, and he went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts and one run. He's slated to play at least three games there, and the Padres will reassess him at the end of the weekend.

Cordero is returning from a right elbow sprain. He missed most of the 2018 season following surgery to remove bone spurs in the same elbow. The Padres are confident the elbow has fully healed, and -- to keep it that way -- Cordero will hit with a brace on that elbow.

• Right-hander Dinelson Lamet allowed three runs over 2 2/3 innings in his first rehab start for Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore on Wednesday. He allowed three hits and a walk, while striking out five.

"Everything was good," said Green. "The fastball command early was a little rusty, but I think everybody was expecting that his first time out. It'll be fine as time goes on. He'll have a number of outings to make sure he's got that where we want it."

Lamet is returning from Tommy John surgery and he likely won't be back with the big league club until late June at the earliest.