Blue Jays have upcoming roster decisions

The imminent return of Devon Travis could provide a spark to the offence, but will also force a roster move sooner than later.

For a team surrounded with so much optimism going into the 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays have been underwhelming thus far this season to say the least. Armed with 2015’s most dangerous lineup, and arguably the best infield defence in baseball, the Blue Jays were supposed to pick up where they left off last year. Instead, they sit at 20-23 through the first quarter of the season.

While there have been many factors involved in the lacklustre start to the season, few expected the offence to be an issue. The heart of the lineup including reigning MVP Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and Troy Tulowitzki have combined to hit .230. Chris Colabello‘s contribution is gone until the second half of the season, Russell Martin is hitting .171, and the bullpen has been a disaster.

Few, or none of those disappointments were expected, or even really feared prior to the season. It’s still early, and the track record of each player mentioned above deserves a long leash in order to get the season back on the track, but the winds of change are starting to blow around Toronto.

One of those changes will come sooner than later in the form of Devon Travis returning to the Blue Jays roster. The second year player had an excellent start to the 2015 season, arguably positioning himself as the early favourite for Rookie of the Year, prior to his season ending shoulder injury.

His return will no doubt be a needed boost to the lineup, but will likely come at the cost of Ryan Goins‘ spot on the roster.

To begin the 2016, I’ll be the first to admit I wondered Goins could play so well that Travis would be relegated to the bench when he returned. There has never been a question about his glove, which is unofficially ranked among the best in the game whether he’s at second, or manning shortstop.

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Goins’ bat has never been a strength, but he seemed to take significant steps forward in 2015, looking more confident as the week’s passed as a regular starter, and played well down the stretch and in the playoffs. He finished the season with a slash line of .250/.318/.354 over 428 plate appearances, which was certainly enough of a contribution at the bottom of the lineup, especially from someone who contributed on defence the way he did.

However, this season has not been so kind to Goins with the stick. Through 110 AB’s, the Texas native sits at .155/.205/.245, striking out in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances. He has always struggled against left-handers, but even in a makeshift platoon with Darwin Barney, Goins is still only hitting .159 against righties.

The presence of Barney and his ability to play both 2nd (former gold glove winner there), and shortstop make Goins somewhat expendable to the club. In addition, recent call-up Jimmy Paredes is also capable of manning 2nd in a pinch, further lessening the need to keep Goins around.

It may be not be where Goins thought he would end up this year, but it’s entirely possible his career would be best served with a stint in Triple A Buffalo, trying to get his bat back to a serviceable level. He isn’t exactly the key to turning around the offence, but there’s no denying the value that Goins can bring to the lineup, especially in the middle of the diamond.

Next: Finding a positional home, or roster fit, for Jimmy Paredes

It’s a long season, and his ability to spell both Tulo and Travis with quality defence can be a big difference maker, especially in the event of injury to the keystone.

The Jays may decide to go another route upon Travis’ return, but its looking more likely every day that Goins will be the roster casualty, and here’s hoping he can return later in the season with the confidence we saw in 2015.