Corbin upbeat as he nears rehab stint

PHOENIX -- D-backs starter Patrick Corbin recently had a bit of a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, prompting the club to give the left-hander five days off from throwing.

Corbin returned to the mound with Monday's extended spring game, and now feels that he is closing in on a rehab assignment with a Minor League affiliate.

"Everything felt great; those five days off really helped," Corbin said. "It was the first time where my slider felt back to normal, I was able to let it go."

In Monday's outing, Corbin threw 3 2/3 innings and had eight strikeouts. He said he hopes that he can begin his rehab stint by Sunday or Monday, but is first focusing on his bullpen session Thursday.

D-backs manager Chip Hale said he was not ready to give a timetable for Corbin's return.

"We'll see how each one goes and how he feels," Hale said.

Corbin was an All-Star in 2013 before missing the '14 season due to the injury.

Now that Corbin has had an opportunity to rest before getting back into the recovery process, he said he may have been overexcited when he first got back on the mound and the short amount of time off boded well for him. He threw a bullpen session, followed by an extended spring game twice before Monday's outing.

"I just didn't allow it to recover as quickly and that's all it was," Corbin said. "The five days maybe let the elbow catch up a little bit, gave it a little rest before I start getting after it again."

Worth noting

• Starter Bronson Arroyo (Tommy John) threw a bullpen session at Chase Field on Tuesday. It was his second bullpen session in the past five days.

The right-hander said the key will be how he feels Wednesday as he continues his recovery.

"It's can you throw and come back the next day and feel like you haven't thrown, not be sore, not be tender?" Arroyo said. "It's just going to be a gradual progress of trying to build that endurance up in the elbow."

• Reliever David Hernandez (Tommy John) was supposed to throw for Triple-A Reno on Monday, but the game was rained out. The plan is still for Hernandez to throw on back-to-back days before he returns to the Majors.

• Third baseman Jake Lamb (left foot) left the club Tuesday to join Triple-A Reno for his rehab assignment, which begins Wednesday.