Devon Travis has only been back with the Toronto Blue Jays for one week but his impact has been significant.
The team has gone 6-1 (with four of those wins against the Yankees and two over the Red Sox) since the second baseman was recalled from triple-A Buffalo on May 25. The 25-year-old hit .304/.361/.498 with eight home runs in 62 games last season after being acquired from the Detroit Tigers in November 2014 for Anthony Gose. However, his 2015 campaign was cut short due to a left shoulder injury.
He spent the better part of a year rehabbing and it was an arduous endeavour to say the least.
“It was a very, very tough rehab process,” Travis told Baseball Central on Sportsnet 590 the Fan Wednesday. “The past 10 months have been the toughest 10 months of my life, mentally definitely more so than physically.
“At the beginning of spring training, I couldn’t even yet lift my left arm above shoulder height, so there definitely was some concern on my end. However, the rehab trainers down in Florida the whole time were telling me that shoulders are slow [to heal] and stay with it and things will turn and when they do they start to turn fast. For me, there was a point where I was starting to doubt [if I could come back] a little bit.”
The Blue Jays discovered Travis had a pre-existing acromion bone non-union in his left shoulder last year and doctors recommended a procedure that included inserting screws to stabilize the extra bone in his shoulder. Travis said the condition, known as an Os Acromiale, is genetic.
He underwent surgery in November and it wasn’t until early March when he was finally able to lift his arm above his head, which he says was a turning point mentally.
“Just to know that I had two working arms again was a point for me to say ‘you know what, this is going to come back,’” he said. “Thankfully I got an arm again that works again baseball wise.”
Travis explained that getting his swing back has been more difficult than getting up to speed on the defensive side of the ball because he releases the bat with his top hand and his lead arm (his left) does all the work during his swing.
He seems to be getting over that hurdle with relative ease, though, after registering six hits in his first six games back, including a dramatic game-winning swing in the bottom of the ninth Saturday.
Travis has been hitting in the bottom half of the order. He mentioned back in February that he hoped to hit lead-off for the Blue Jays in 2016, but now that he’s back in the majors he isn’t too concerned about his placement in the lineup.
“It definitely is a little bit different to hit five or six compared to lead-off, but I try to treat every at bat the exact same,” he said.
Travis also admitted he is still making adjustments now that he’s back as an everyday major leaguer.
“The biggest thing is it’s just a different feel when you get to the big leagues. You have to do your best to control your emotions,” Travis added. “I was so amped up my first few games back that I feel like I wasn’t even allowing the game to come to me… As every day has gone by I’ve gotten a little bit more comfortable and hopefully here soon I’ll feel back to 100 per cent normal.”
