DETROIT -- Tigers center fielder JaCoby Jones returned to game action sooner than expected, beginning a Minor League rehab assignment Friday night at Class A Advanced Lakeland. Now that he’s playing, manager Ron Gardenhire wants to make sure he gets enough at-bats to be comfortable and confident at the plate before returning.

Jones, who opened the season on the 10-day injured list with an A/C joint sprain in his left shoulder, went 1-for-4 with a double and three strikeouts Friday night in a Florida State League game against Tampa. He was one of the many strikeout victims against Yankees No. 4 prospect Deivi Garcia, who racked up nine K’s over just 3 1/3 innings.

Still, with Jones just back, the Tigers want to be patient.

“I’d like to see him hit the ball,” Gardenhire said. “It’s about health, yes, but he hasn’t swung a lot, not a lot of at-bats. So you need at-bats, yes. He can dive. That’s good. But we need hits, too. We need him to do that.”

It’s a balancing act for the Tigers, who badly need Jones’ defense in center field. While Mikie Mahtook, Niko Goodrum and Dustin Peterson have filled the spot, none of them are natural center fielders, though Goodrum played more than a month there in Triple-A Rochester in 2017. The inexperience has shown on some plays, such as Mahtook and right fielder Nicholas Castellanos both chasing a drive to the fence in right-center in Toronto instead of one hanging back for the bounce off the fence.

On Thursday, Goodrum fell victim to a ball against the outfield shift and a fast bounce off the cold outfield surface at Comerica Park, resulting in a Whit Merrifield triple and run scored.

“We were shifted over, and then he hit one to the other gap,” Goodrum said. “It hit that hard surface and took off.”

Mahtook and Goodrum entered Saturday at negative-3 Defensive Runs Saved this season combined in center, according to Fangraphs. Jones led all Major League outfielders last year with 21 Defensive Runs Saved and finished second to AL MVP Mookie Betts with a 12.3 Ultimate Zone Rating.

The difference between Jones’ elite defensive metrics and his 1.2 Wins Above Replacement, according to Fangraphs, comes down to offense. He batted .207 with a .630 OPS and 142 strikeouts in 429 at-bats last year, and the Tigers spent Spring Training emphasizing a two-strike approach to help him create more contact and better utilize his speed on the basepaths.

“We want him up here desperately,” Gardenhire said, “but I still want him to put some good swings on the ball. Because you can’t just step back in the big leagues after missing that much time and say, ‘I’m great.’”

VerHagen close to return

By contrast, reliever Drew VerHagen could be on a quicker path back to Detroit. The big right-hander, who went on the 10-day IL with a right flexor pronator strain, began his rehab assignment at Lakeland as well on Friday with a perfect inning of relief. Reports out of Lakeland, Gardenhire said, tabbed VerHagen’s fastball at 92-93 mph.

“He feels great,” Gardenhire said. “He’ll sit down, probably do it one more time and we’ll make a decision.”

That would put VerHagen on a path to return sometime next week, possibly during the Tigers’ upcoming series against the Indians.

Quick hits

• Miguel Cabrera’s RBI single in the fifth inning on Saturday moved him past Ernie Banks for 29th on the all-time Major League list with 1,637 RBIs. He’s 15 RBIs away from Tony Perez at 28.

• Danny Woodrow, the Tigers’ 22nd-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, had a walk-off squeeze bunt with the bases loaded and two outs in the 11th inning Friday night, sending Triple-A Toledo to a 4-3 win over Louisville. The well-placed bunt to the third-base side left pitcher Jimmy Herget without a play at any base.

• Tigers No. 2 prospect Matt Manning tossed five innings of one-run, one-hit ball in his season debut Friday for Double-A Erie in an 11-1 win over Trenton. The 21-year-old right-hander struck out five batters and walked three, throwing 44 of 68 pitches for strikes.