Devon Travis hit in ribs, leaves game for Blue Jays

You see Blue Jays fans? That’s why we can’t have nice things.

After losing Jose Reyes earlier this week to a cracked rib, the last thing the Toronto Blue Jays wanted to see was another middle infielder go down with an injury. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened on Sunday, as rookie second baseman Devon Travis left today’s game with a left rib contusion.

The injury occurred in the first inning, when Braves starter Shelby Miller ran a two-seam fastball in a little too tight to Travis, plunking him squarely on the side. After initially bending over in pain, Travis waved off trainers and went down to first base. However, he would come out of the game a few minutes later, after being forced to dive back into first base on a pick-off attempt.

The good news is that the X-Rays have come back negative and Travis is considered day-to-day at this point due to the bruising. Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star was on top of the latest update via Twitter.

Devon Travis has been off to a blistering start to his Blue Jays career, hitting .356/.396/.644 with 3 home runs, 12 RBI, and 9 runs scored in his first 12 Major League games. Coupled with his impressive defense, he has already contributed a 0.7 WAR according to FanGraphs.

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That production at the plate made Travis the obvious choice as the team’s lead-off hitter with Jose Reyes’ status unknown for the next few days. However, if Travis is due to miss time, the Blue Jays may be forced throw out some interesting line-ups in order to find the right mix.

The Blue Jays will look to evaluate the situation with the off day on Monday. If neither Reyes or Travis are healthy enough to go on Tuesday, Toronto may be forced to place one of them on the disabled list in order to add some infield depth. The Blue Jays are already a bit thin in terms of infield depth in the minor, and that only increased with the promotion of Ryan Goins earlier this week. Munenori Kawasaki is available at Triple-A Buffalo, but he’s in on a minor league deal, which would require a corresponding move to clear space on the 40-man roster.

That said, none of the options available to Toronto are particularly enticing. The best case scenario is  a day off will allow the bruising to subside and Travis will be back in there on Tuesday against Baltimore. Otherwise, Blue Jays fans should get used the idea of a healthy portion of Steve Tolleson and Ryan Goins.

Next: Blue Jays recall Jeff Francis, option Colt Hynes

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