The Toronto Blue Jays expect to be without rookie second baseman Devon Travis until early September.
Travis’s shoulder inflammation hasn’t progressed as quickly as expected, so GM Alex Anthopoulos told Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker on Baseball Central Monday that the Blue Jays expect him to remain sidelined for at least three weeks. Travis has been on the disabled list since July 29, after re-aggravating the left shoulder injury that initially relegated him to the disabled list from May 17-June 26.
The injury to Travis was part of the reason the Blue Jays added infielder Cliff Pennington in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pennington, who cleared waivers before being traded to Toronto, is a switch-hitter who complements Ryan Goins’ skillset better than Munenori Kawasaki, who was optioned to triple-A Buffalo.
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Travis, 24, has eight home runs with a .304/.361/.498 batting line in 62 games with the Blue Jays this season. While the Blue Jays are undoubtedly missing his offensive production, they’ll enjoy Goins’ strong defensive play in the meantime.
“Being a stronger defensive club has been huge for us and it’s going to be very important for us going forward,” Anthopoulos said.
Marcus Stroman and Michael Saunders are also injured, but like Travis they could return in September to bolster the Blue Jays’ roster for the end of the regular season.
Anthopoulos said the Blue Jays continue to monitor the waiver wire for potential fourth outfielders and starting pitchers.