Jose Reyes could soon be ready for rehab assignment

When last we saw Jays shortstop Jose Reyes, he was being carted off the field in Kansas City, his left ankle heavily bandaged. He'd rolled his foot badly on an attempted steal, sliding awkwardly into second base. It was a nasty injury (clip here), obviously serious, and Reyes soon hit the 60-day DL. He reportedly heard a pop, which is never a good thing.

At the time of the injury, I would not have bet on seeing Reyes back in action before the All-Star break. But he shed his walking boot in mid-May, he was cleared to run a week ago, and it sounds like he'll begin a rehab assignment shortly.

Eyewitness reports are plenty encouraging...

...so Reyes owners finally have a reason to feel not-terrible about their predicament.

We're obviously talking about a speed-dependent player, a guy you drafted as a high-volume base-stealer at a premium position. Hopefully Jose will be active on the bases during his rehab stint, whenever it begins, so we won't have many lingering questions when he returns to Toronto. Reyes has a deep, troubling history of leg injuries, but he's never failed to contribute in his core category. He swiped 40 bags last year and five in his first 10 games with the Jays.

With any luck, he'll get back to pilfering again in June. It sounds like your long wait for his return won't be quite as long as originally expected.