Blue Jays’ Devon Travis Out for a While, Trade Coming?

When the Blue Jays started the season, they were taking a chance on the rookie, Devon Travis. He did not disappoint. But, injury had its way with his shoulder. Then, when the Trade Deadline came, the club took some more risks. They gave up a significant chunk of their future to win now. These two issues are coming to a head.

Firstly, TSN’s Scott MacArthur says that Travis could be miss even more time than he has.

So, well over a month earlier in the season to heal from his injury was not enough tot help him. He was back in the lineup for a brief stint before it started acting up again. Now, it appears that the Blue Jays will be without their sparkplug of a rookie for an extended period. This is surely going to be a loss to this lineup. While they are arguably still the best offense in all of baseball, Travis brings a consistent approach at the plate that we’ve grown to love. Instead, the club is stuck with Ryan Goins at the plate. And, lately, Goins has been surpassing our expectations. But, fans would certainly love to have Travis in there over Goins. 

Toronto Blue Jays

The roster shuffle of trades forced the Blue Jays into a situation where they called up Munenori Kawasaki. While he is a fan favorite, we should not make the mistake of thinking that this move was meant to do anything other than plug a hole for a short period of time. Kawasaki brings a certain level of infield versatility that a club needs in the run of a season. But, to have him on the bench for longer than a week or two is less than ideal when you’re making a playoff push.

So, perhaps the Blue Jays are going to switch from taking chances on rookies and gambling. Since they’re clearly in the hunt and going for it now, they may want to take control of this situation and bring in someone who can provide more than Kawasaki. Which brings us to the latest Blue Jays rumor from Robert Murray of Baseball Essential.

Trades can still happen at this point in the season if a player clears waivers. Typically, you see players who come with hefty price tags clear waivers since the claiming club would be on the hook for the remainder of the contract. If a player is claimed, the posting club can remove him of course. But, the temptation to bring in infield help might be too large for the Blue Jays.

After this rumor was dropped, some wondered if this meant there could be a reunion in store with Aaron Hill. But, his decline has reached a point where his 2016 price tag of $12M is quite unappealing. The rumor has since grown:

Cliff Pennington brings the remainder of a rather tidy $3.3M for 2015. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season. The situation being what it is, this kind of rental just might be perfect for the Blue Jays. He’s slashing .237/.314/.281. He has virtually no power to speak of with an ISO of .044 and one home run in 72 games this season. But, that is not what the Blue Jays will be looking to bring in. Nope, they’re after his defensive abilities. This season alone, he’s played 2B, 3B, SS and LF. And, he’s done so at a very acceptable level. This is a deal that makes a lot of sense for the Blue Jays.

UPDATE:

We now know the details of the deal:

Next: Blue Jays Trades Have Given Club a Boost

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