Encouraging signs for Infante after rehab outing

CLEVELAND -- Omar Infante went 1-for-5 as the designated hitter for Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday night to begin his latest rehab assignment.

Infante had two popouts and a groundout in his first three at-bats against Triple-A Columbus starter and Indians prospect Trevor Bauer before getting to him for an infield single in the seventh inning. The fact that Infante could leg out the infield single is likely good news for his ankle, which he has said hurts mainly when he runs and turns the bases.

He struck out in the ninth inning on a foul tip.

The next step is for him to play about seven innings at second base on Wednesday.

What happens on Thursday will depend, in large part, on how Infante feels. When he was on his previous rehab assignment a couple of weeks ago, before aggravating his ankle, he wanted to get in three or four games to get his timing back at the plate. This time he isn't committing to that many games.

The Tigers have been in a wait-and-see mode on Infante for about a month while his sprained left ankle, an injury sustained on Colby Rasmus' takeout slide at second base on July 3 in Toronto, slowly recovers.