Victor Martinez could rejoin Tigers lineup this weekend

Victor Martinez could return to the Detroit Tigers lineup this weekend.

After a four-game rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Toledo, he will meet the team in New York for their weekend series against the Yankees.

"Whether he's activated or not, that's another issue," manager Brad Ausmus said. "We'll have to see how he feels and what he's feeling like."

Martinez is 3-for-8 with two RBIs in two games with the Mud Hens.

He went 2-for-4 swinging left-handed on Monday night against the Syracuse Chiefs.

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"I talked to him after the first game, he said he felt good," Ausmus said. "I texted him yesterday after his four at-bats left-handed and he said he felt good.

"He hit some balls hard and he's a go again tonight, and right now he's on schedule for the next two games in Syracuse."

Martinez has been sidelined since May 19 with left knee inflammation, stemming from late off-season surgery.

He is hitting .215 with one home run and 15 RBIs this season.

He was offered the chance to take a charter flight from Pawtucket – where he began his rehabilitation assignment on Sunday – to Syracuse but declined, Ausmus said.

"I talked to him while he was on the bus," he said. "He sounded like he was having fun."

Avila update: Catcher Alex Avila took early batting practice before tonight's game against the Reds and, "He swung the bat well," Ausmus said. Avila is scheduled to make throws to the bases and potentially catch a bullpen during a two-game set that begins Wednesday in Cincinnati.

We'll see where he is after that," Ausmus said.

He has been sidelined with a loose body in his left knee since May 9.

On the field: Ausmus said he knew where leftifelder Yoenis Cespedes was before the third inning of Monday night's win over the Reds, when he failed to appear for a few minutes on the field.

"It's a bathroom break," Ausmus said. "I knew he would make it back out so it wasn't a big deal."

Ausmus said the team had Andrew Romine ready to play leftfield in the case umpires forced the game to go on before Cespedes returned.

Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.