Camaraderie helps Travis through injury

Wondering how Devon Travis is dealing with his latest injury setback? The Toronto Blue Jays second baseman sums it up in just three words.

“I’ll be back,” Travis said Wednesday.

Injured and watching his teammates from the dugout when the games start to matter the most, Travis is in a situation he’s all too familiar with.

Travis was placed on the 60-day disabled list last week following surgery on his right knee. It’s his second surgery on the knee and his third in as many seasons. He had shoulder surgery in 2015.

“When you’re gone, the best thing you can do is do your best to be a good teammate, and just being here in the dugout, it’s nice,” Travis said.

Travis said it’s been tough dealing with so many injuries at his relatively young age — he’s just 26 — but he finds solace in being able to help his teammates out in whatever way he can.

“Being able to slap hands when they come in the dugout, any questions, or anything I can ever help with, it’s nice to be around,” he said.

Over the course of his MLB career, Travis has missed 213 regular-season games of a possible 486 due to injury — that’s 44 per cent. But he said the injuries have taught him to appreciate how fortunate he really is.

“We’re so lucky and blessed to call this our job that subtle reminders when you get hurt and you’re away from the game, they definitely smack you on the back a little bit,” he said. “When you’re away from the game, you really get to see and you really get to feel how much you love the game and how much the game really impacts your life.”

Travis said he’s tried to remain optimistic. “It doesn’t really get easier in the sense of dealing with it, but it does get easier in the sense of making a comeback for sure.”