Cubs veteran Ben Zobrist is finally returning to baseball after leaving the team for personal reasons in May.

Zobrist, 38, will join Class-A South Bend on Friday, beginning a month-long rehab process before returning to the big league team.

"The plan is for him to play rehab games on and off for the month of August," Cubs president Theo Epstein said Friday morning. "I don't think he'll play straight through. He's going to take some time off in between these stints to continue to get his body in shape and continue to practice. He's not going to come back as an everyday player, anyway, so it makes sense to get him ready this way."