Travis puts knee issues behind him
Jays infielder confident he’ll meet his goal and be on the turf for the season opener
The opposition on this afternoon was the Scranton Railriders, the triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The venue was the sprawling minor league home of the Toronto Blue Jays’ AL East rivals and the game was played before a crowd of maybe 100 people.
But under those understated spring training co-ordinates on Sunday afternoon, Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis may have taken his biggest step yet to get back to big league form.
A quick-moving and encouraging week of pain-free improvement for the player likely to bat leadoff in Toronto’s batting lineup has Travis believing he’ll be good to go for opening day.
Normally hustling to first base and being called safe on an error would be barely notable in a minor league game. But when Travis did so by unflinchingly running hard in the second inning, it was arguably the biggest news of the day for the Jays, given that the April 3 season opener is just two weeks away.
“(Opening day) has been my goal from the get-go,” Travis said after going zero for four in five plate appearances, the most notable that sprint to first base. “It’s why I got down here so early to get my knee right. It’s still my goal and I see it happening.
“The biggest thing is my knee is going to tell me when I’m ready to go, and it’s starting to tell me I’m ready to go for sure.”
There’s still work to be done as Travis continues his long, tedious recovery from a bone bruise on his knee, the after-effect of off-season surgery.
Travis has to hone his eye to stay on top of game-speed pitching, and still needs to take the next step defensively. That will tentatively come either Tuesday or Thursday when he hopes to start at his customary second base in a minor league game.
“I’ve got to get out there (in the field) in a big league game,” Travis said of his to-do list. “I’ve got to play the field. I’m not going to be a DH in the big leagues, so I’ve got to prove to them I can play both sides of the ball and wake up the next day feeling good and ready to go ahead.”
A Jays lineup light on major leaguers travelled south on Sunday to Bradenton for a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That contest marked the first defensive appearance for Toronto utility fielder Steve Pearce, who started at first base in an 11-11 Jays tie with the Pirates and drove in a pair of runs on a fifth-inning single.
Meanwhile, third baseman Josh Donaldson took a pass on hitting minor league pitching after an aggressive morning in the batting cage and running back at the Jays’ minor league facility in Dunedin. Donaldson has been working on fielding drills as well, charging toward a game appearance — either minor league or major league — at some point this week.
“He’s answered the bell on everything,” Jays athletic trainer George Poulis said of Donaldson. “Hopefully there are no setbacks. He is in unbelievable shape. He just looks fit and he’s doing great.
“He just chose not to play today and to work harder in the batting cage and take the time to recover.”
Though it wasn’t Donaldson, Travis did have company for the trip across the bay on Sunday — Jays centre-fielder Kevin Pillar, who came to work on his bunting and to check out Travis’s progress.
“I came out to offer some support for a good friend of mine, a guy who has been grinding for a long time to get back and try to get ready for opening day,” Pillar said. “To see him get out here and get down the line is pretty optimistic, not only for myself and for him but for our team. We’re definitely counting on him being on our opening day roster.”
Pillar watched his teammate’s at bats closely, taking a video of his last trip to the plate.
“Timing is the issue right now, but I told him: ‘Your swing looks like your swing,’ ” Pillar said. To me, that’s the biggest sign. His body is firing the way I’ve got accustomed to seeing.”