Jon Jay nearing minor league rehab assignment

More positive health news for the Cardinals.

According to beat writer Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, center fielder Jon Jay will travel to the team’s spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida on Sunday evening and is scheduled to take live, on-field batting practice Monday.

If it goes well, a rehab assignment will soon follow.

Jay has been on the disabled list since May 15 with a sprained right shoulder, suffered on the play that is pictured in this post. He’s eligible to return May 30.

The 27-year-old was hitting .343/.395/.438 with two homers and 18 runs scored in 117 plate appearances before the DL stint, operating as an important table-setter for the National League’s best offense.

The Blue Jays placed right-hander Aaron Sanchez on the 10-day disabled list with a contusion in his right index finger, per a team announcement on Saturday. The assignment is retroactive to Friday. In a corresponding move, righty Marcus Stroman was activated from the DL (right shoulder fatigue) and will take the mound for the Blue Jays at 9:07 PM ET tonight.

Sanchez, 25, is in his fifth season with the club. He hasn’t looked his sharpest so far this year, going 3-5 in 15 starts with a career-worst 4.52 ERA, 5.1 BB/9 and 7.6 SO/9 through 79 2/3 innings. It’s not yet clear how long he’ll be sidelined, though he could miss as little as one turn in the rotation before returning to the roster in the next week or two.

Sanchez isn’t the only struggling starter in Toronto’s rotation, either. Per MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm, the team placed southpaw Jaime Garcia on the DL (right shoulder tenderness) as well, with lefty reliever Tim Mayza scheduled to take his spot on the roster. In 13 starts this season, Garcia carried a 2-6 record, 6.16 ERA, 4.5 BB/9 and 8.2 SO/9 over 61 1/3 innings. Any further decisions pertaining to the rotation — including Tuesday’s starter against the Astros — have yet to be publicly addressed.