It has been three hundred and two days since Devon Travis was placed on the disabled list at the end of July with a mystery shoulder injury. Today, he is making his return.
Source: #BlueJays calling up Devon Travis today. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) May 25, 2016
Travis, 25, has been on a rehab stint in the Blue Jays minor league system over the past few weeks, and has had success in his limited appearances. In four games with Dunedin, he hit .357/.375/.500, while in five games with Buffalo, he hit .273/.273/.364. In 2015, he broke out in his rookie season with the Blue Jays, hitting .304/.361/.498 with eight home runs in 62 games. On top of that, he provided the Blue Jays with steady defense at second base, something he wasn’t known for as a prospect. He routinely made tough plays with ease, but most importantly, his double play turns were smooth and efficient.
It was a long road to recovery for Travis, as after the initial treatment failed, an exploratory surgery found that one of the four growth plates of the acromion bone near the shoulder failed to fuse while he was developing, causing him to feature “an extra bone”. Travis then underwent surgery in November to fuse the plates, which forced him out of baseball related activities for more than four months. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to get to this day.
Travis will now presumably slide back into his starting role with the Blue Jays, replacing Darwin Barney, who will likely move to the bench. The odd man out in this scenario would be Ryan Goins, who has struggled mightily in 2016, and has even lost starts against right handed pitching. However, this can all change if Troy Tulowitzki needs to go on the disabled list after aggravating his right leg in Tuesday night’s game against the Yankees.
It will be interesting to see where Travis bats in the lineup, but one would expect it to be near the bottom to begin with, as the top two thirds of the lineup seems pretty set at this point.
UPDATE 2:16 PM
Well, it isn’t Tulowitzki going to the disabled list, or Goins being optioned. It’s Pat Venditte.
Devon Travis recalled. Pat Venditte optioned. #BlueJays
— Barry Davis (@SNBarryDavis) May 25, 2016
This move likely signifies that Tulowitzki is still a bit sore from yesterday and is day-to-day, hence the need to go down to a six man bullpen for the time being. Although it would be nice for the six man bullpen to stay for a while longer, it is probably only going to be around for a few days, before LHP Aaron Loup is ready to return from his rehab stint. Once Loup is ready to return and Tulo is feeling 100%, Goins should be optioned to work on his approach at the plate. Batting .148/.197/.235 with a 12 wRC+ just doesn’t cut it in the major leagues, and he has deserved to lose his spot on this roster.
All in all, this is great news. The Blue Jays need offense, and Devon Travis has shown the ability to provide a spark when needed. Although this might not solve all of their offensive woes, it will add one more potent bat to the lineup, and that is always a good thing.
Welcome back, Devo.
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