DETROIT -- Tigers reliever Denny Bautista will begin a Minor League rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo starting on Saturday. But it's not just his health that club officials are looking for; it's his command, too.

Bautista has been sidelined since May 3 with right shoulder tendinitis. He had endured two rough outings before that, walking three batters and hitting another on April 29 against the Yankees before giving up three runs on four hits on May 2 at Minnesota. He complained of shoulder soreness after the latter outing.

Manager Jim Leyland said after the latter performance that Bautista would have to either become more efficient with his pitches or condition himself to bounce back quickly from long outings. If he can command his fastball better, which he did in Spring Training, the efficiency should improve dramatically.

"Obviously, we would like to get him back as soon as possible," Leyland said. "But at the same time, if it's not right and you don't feel like you're sharp enough to compete at the Major League level, then take some extra time down there.

"This is going to be an important time for a lot of guys. I don't want to send the wrong message, because I don't mean it that way, but if things go as we'd like, in the not-too-distant future there's a possibility we might have [Fernando] Rodney and [Joel] Zumaya. It's down the road yet, but at some point [it's possible]. So performance is going to be important for these guys. The message is [to] make sure you feel you're ready to compete."

The plan, Leyland said, is for Bautista to throw an inning on Saturday and two innings on Tuesday before the Tigers re-evaluate him.

"We're going to play it by ear from there," Leyland said.

Neither Rodney nor Zumaya are anywhere close to coming back, but Detroit's bullpen has still changed since Bautista went on the DL. Francisco Cruceta, who had joined the club just before Bautista went on the shelf, has emerged as the Tigers' eighth-inning setup man in Bautista's place. It's uncertain how Bautista's return will affect that.