ARLINGTON, Texas – The Toronto Blue Jays expected Devon Travis to lead off for them Friday morning. By Friday afternoon they were hoping that upcoming tests reveal nothing serious in their second baseman’s sore right knee.
In between, they beat the Texas Rangers 5-3 to take a 2-0 lead in the ALDS, but there’s now reason for concern surrounding Travis.
“It’s pain,” Travis said. “It hurts pretty good.”
“I want to be optimistic. We’ll figure it out tomorrow what exactly’s going on. Until then I don’t know what’s going on, I just know that it hurts.”
The Blue Jays initially had Travis in their starting lineup at second base, but replaced him with Darwin Barney less than an hour before first pitch because of what they described as right knee irritation. The pain was serious enough that the Blue Jays are planning an MRI Friday night or Saturday morning, soon after they return to Toronto.
“They gave him a shot. That didn’t do the trick,” manager John Gibbons said. “So we’re just going to have to go day-by-day, see how he is tomorrow … I don’t think it’s a big deal, but I think it’s important to get a look at it.”
Travis isn’t sure how he sustained the injury, which he felt during Thursday’s ALDS opener. “I don’t know what happened, but something happened,” he said. There was no single moment where the pain started, though.
This much is clear: it’s a new feeling, ‘real new,’ and not something he had worried about until Thursday.
Travis went to bed Thursday hoping for improvement overnight, but when he awoke Friday he still felt pain in his knee. He then texted Blue Jays trainers to let them know he’d need help preparing for the game. Extensive treatment followed without significant progress.
“I don’t feel much better yet, that’s for sure,” Travis said.
Realizing that Travis couldn’t go, the Blue Jays turned to Barney, who went hitless in three at-bats but reached base when a Yu Darvish pitch sailed inside and hit him.
“I didn’t wake up knowing,” Barney said. “But that’s my role here. My role is to be ready.”
Barney has filled in capably throughout the 2016 season, posting a .322 on-base percentage with four home runs while appearing at five positions. That said, the Blue Jays would face a real drop-off on offence if Travis needs a few days.
The 25-year-old hit 11 home runs this year while batting .300 with a .785 OPS in 432 plate appearances. That’s all-star calibre production that earned Travis a spot atop the Blue Jays’ batting order.
Travis aggravated his surgically repaired left shoulder in a bench-clearing incident with the New York Yankees September 26, but he returned to the lineup after two days off. A scheduled off-day Saturday could allow for a similarly quick return to the lineup, particularly if the shot Gibbons referenced can work its magic.
Still, if the typically upbeat Travis is having a hard time staying optimistic, there’s cause for some concern — at least until those MRI results prove otherwise.