Marlins' Pablo Lopez: Rehab assignment on tap

Lopez (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Jacksonville on Thursday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Lopez tossed a bullpen Tuesday, and he'll return to game action for the first time since his first rehab assignment was shut down in late August. The right-hander is expected to throw a couple innings Thursday and won't have enough time to build back up to a starter's workload prior to the end of the season. It's not yet clear whether the Marlins will activate him as a reliever for the final few games of the 2021 campaign, but Lopez should be able to have a relatively normal offseason.