Fansided

Brett Lawrie To Begin Rehab Assignment

By JJ Keller

May 23, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie (13) gets a broken bat single in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at the Rogers Centre. Toronto defeated Baltimore 12-6. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie (13) gets a broken bat single in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at the Rogers Centre. Toronto defeated Baltimore 12-6. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 23, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie (13) gets a broken bat single in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at the Rogers Centre. Toronto defeated Baltimore 12-6. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie (13) gets a broken bat single in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at the Rogers Centre. Toronto defeated Baltimore 12-6. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Although Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said yesterday that third baseman Brett Lawrie was likely weeks away from starting his rehab assignment, it turns out that is not going to be the case.

Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos said today “Brett Lawrie will be here (in Buffalo) at some point. He’s going to start his rehab assignment on Wednesday in Florida and when he’s ready we’ll have him get some at bats here; I don’t know when.” Apparently he and Gibbons were not on the same page on this issue, as tomorrow is a lot sooner than a couple weeks.

Lawrie has been out for roughly a month with a sprained left ankle, but his return seems to be due here in the next couple of weeks. Although Lawrie became a pretty big name a couple years ago, he has not been great since, and injuries have become common.

After a breakout season in 2011 in which he came up half way through and posted a .953 OPS, he has posted OPS’s of .729 and .642. Injuries likely have something to do with that, though it is unclear whether we will see the player we saw when he first burst onto the scene.

With Jose Reyes also on the way back, the Jays will be able to restore the left side of their infield in the next week or two, which will only add to a team that has one 11 of their last 12 games, and are back over .500 for the season.