Blue Jays 2B Devon Travis out 4-5 months following surgery

Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis has undergone shoulder surgery and is expected to miss four to five months of baseball activity. Under the current recovery estimates, the Blue Jays may be without Travis until April or beyond in 2016. 


This gives his mysterious injury situation some long-needed clarity, which had puzzled Blue Jays doctors at multiple points in 2015. The hope (yikes) is that this procedure, which involves putting screws into the shoulder, will stabilize it longterm and allow Travis to resume a career free of setbacks. It’s in the short term, though, that this raises questions for Toronto.

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Ryan Goins is clearly the next man up here, and if he’s only asked to hold down the fort for one month, there’s no cause for worry. His defense will keep the infield tight, and if his 2015 performance can carry over, another full-time cameo at the plate won’t hurt a thing. If depth beyond Goins is needed, however, either due to health or performance, the cupboard is awfully bare.

Cliff Pennington recently departed in the free agent market, while 2015 depth and current free agents Steve Tolleson, Jonathan Diaz and Munenori Kawasaki don’t offer much in terms of MLB readiness. Expect the Blue Jays to ramp up their infield efforts as, even before this Devon Travis news hit, one or more veteran depth pieces were necessary.

There also exists the possibility that this injury follows the same course of Travis’ first two and drags longer than expected, but let’s not go down that road just yet. It’s more important for Travis to be healthy for the second half than it is the first half, and if this procedure successfully gets him back to 100%, Ryan Goins and the rest of the Blue Jays will buy time until he’s comfortable to return.