Devon Travis batting leadoff for Blue Jays on Wednesday

The Blue Jays second-baseman has gone 14-for-31 over his past eight games with two home runs and nine RBIs

With Ezequiel Carrera out of the lineup on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Blue Jays are turning to second-baseman Devon Travis atop the lineup.

Originally pegged as a leading candidate for the Blue Jays leadoff spot before a shoulder procedure caused him to miss spring training and the opening of the season, Travis has hit primarily from the seventh and eighth spots in the order since his return.

After the recent eight-game surge where Travis has hit .452, his season average has risen to .256 while his on-base percentage still sits at .286. Travis has 95 career plate appearances batting at the top of the order, owning a .209 average and .692 OPS (still too small a sample size to draw from).

Carrera, who is enjoying a very strong season and now manning the everyday duties in right field with the injury to Jose Bautista, does seem to have the confidence of manager John Gibbons.

Barring a mammoth game, Travis could be destined for a new lineup slot when the Blue Jays pick back up on Friday against the Chicago White Sox, but he shouldn’t be any further off than the next man up at leadoff.

Darrell Ceciliani is making the start in right and batting ninth.