Lind hits two doubles in first rehab game

TORONTO -- Adam Lind hit a pair of doubles in his first rehab game for the Gulf Coast Blue Jays on Thursday morning.

Lind received two at-bats before he was removed from the game. In addition to the doubles, he also scored a run.

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said that Lind is days away from making a return. He'll likely be back on Monday for the start of a three-game series in Seattle, but an even earlier return hasn't been completely ruled out.

"He didn't feel like he was going to need a whole lot of rehab games," Anthopoulos said. "He just felt his timing was there. He said he faced Neil Wagner and [Roberto] Osuna, who were throwing hard. His big thing was more velocity. He said he was seeing the ball great, he was hitting the ball very hard."

Lind has been out since July 7 with a fractured right foot. He suffered the injury several weeks before but attempted to play through the pain until an MRI revealed the extent of the damage.

The 31-year-old likely will start at designated hitter until Edwin Encarnacion returns from the DL. Once both players are back, they'll split time at DH and first base.

Lind is hitting .320 with an .878 OPS, four homers and 27 RBIs in 61 games this season.

"He made a good point: If he feels his timing is already there, more games in Dunedin or Gulf Coast is [not] going to prepare him to face a guy like Felix Hernandez on Monday," Anthopoulos said.

"There's no one really out there that's going to simulate what he's going to face. His big thing was just to continue to see live BP, get some guys hopefully throwing hard, but he feels like he is really close."