Brett Lawrie to Begin Rehab Assignment, Sergio Santos Not Far Behind

May 6, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie (13) against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 8-7. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Blue Jays 11-game win streak may be over, but that has not stopped the good news from continuing for the team. With Jose Reyes set to return to the line-up on Wednesday, Toronto also announced that two other injured players, may be close to returning as well.

Third baseman Brett Lawrie has been cleared to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday in Dunedin. Meanwhile, reliever Sergio Santos is set to begin facing live hitters in simulated situations and could begin a rehabilitation assignment during the first week of July.

Both the Lawrie move and the Santos news were reported by Gregor Chisolm at MLB.com.

Lawrie has been on the disabled list since May 27th with a high ankle sprain, the result of an awkward slide on a stolen base against the Atlanta Braves. Ironically, it was a similar injury to the one suffered by Reyes albeit to much less of a degree.

According to Chisolm, Lawrie is expected to need approximately two weeks worth of rehab time before returning to the team. That said, the 23-year-old Lawrie has struggled to a .209 average, a .642 OPS, and a 23.5 K%, so any extra time he spends in the Minor Leagues getting a rhythm and working on his swing mechanics can only serve to help him and the team.

On the other side of the coin is Santos, who was placed on the disabled list on April 14th with a strained forearm and had a minor procedure to remove bone spurs from his elbow. He is expected to begin a rehab assignment on July 1st. However, since he was moved to the 60-day disabled list on May 19th, the Blue Jays would have to make a corresponding roster move on both the 40-man and 25-man roster in order to activate him.

Santos had a 2.08 ERA over 4.1 innings in 2013 before heading to the DL. Numerous injuries have hampered the former White Sox closer, who has yet to step into the role with the Blue Jays since being acquired on December 6, 2011 from Chicago for Minor League reliever Nestor Molina.