Normally, when a superstar player like Jose Reyes is ready to rejoin his team after an injury rehab assignment, the welcome doors are opened wide.

But with the Blue Jays riding a club-record-tying 11-game winning streak, their all-star shortstop’s return will have to wait.

Reyes — whose return from three months of rehabbing his injured ankle was expected either Sunday or Monday — has a different timetable now, according to GM Alex Anthopoulos.

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Reyes may not join the Jays until Thursday, although the exact date is fluid for now, Anthopoulos said Sunday after the club extended its winning streak to 11 with a 13-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Immediately, talk erupted that the Jays were giving in to superstition by delaying Reyes’ return — and the sentiment is not far off.

Baseball harbours a tradition of never tampering with a winning streak. The Blue Jay dressing room would obviously be unhappy if Reyes returned and the club started losing. Even though all streaks are bound to end, the belief is that it’s not worth disrupting a club’s confidence even if it’s to get a superstar back into the lineup.

It follows, logically, that Reyes will get his job back the moment the streak is over.

“Can’t screw this thing up . . . ” Jays manager John Gibbons said, smiling, in his post-game remarks Sunday.

Reyes, according to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, is scheduled to play one more game with the team on Monday night at home to Durham. After that, he could rejoin the Jays or drop down to Double-A New Hampshire to extend his rehab.

The Jays, who begin a seven-game road trip on Monday night in Tampa Bay, may also want to ease Reyes back into the lineup away from Toronto, where media coverage this weekend exceeded normal levels.

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