Healthy Sanchez, Travis win-win
DUNEDIN, FLA.— As far as spring training entertainment, Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Tigers at Dunedin Stadium was at the bottom of the heap. But as far as spring training significance goes, this game was hard to beat in terms of two important Blue Jays moving forward toward a return to the field on opening day.
Second baseman Devon Travis was injured on June 4 last summer, and had not been on the field in any sort of game setting since surgery to his right knee. For all of 2017, right-hander Aaron Sanchez battled the reality of a lingering finger problem that had kept him out of action since July 19. But it’s the lingering perception among fans that it will happen again that is his bigger battle.
Sanchez threw 22 pitches in his one inning, allowing a pair of runs on two hits, with a hit batter and two strikeouts. Meh. If you consider that pitching line bad news, then consider also the reality of his being out there for that many pitches without once showing any ill effects or looking at his hand. That’s a true positive.
“I’m so over finger questions and doing that,” Sanchez said. “I probably won’t even (look at my hand) throughout the year just because I don’t want people asking questions. I think my finger’s in a good spot. There’s no excuse today. I didn’t even hesitate. Nothing off my fingers gave me discomfort. Everything that I was trying to accomplish that way was good. Now the competitor in me, I’m not happy with the other side. I’ll take today with a grain of salt and just move forward.”
Sanchez needed to throw all his pitches regardless of what the boxscore showed. His fastballs were all 95 or 96 miles per hour, but his changeup and curveball lacked location and command, other than one change that darted down and away for a swinging strikeout against a left-handed hitter. The Tiger he hit with an errant fastball? Sanchez couldn’t even tell you his name.
“I probably could have had a clean inning if I had just thrown all fastballs, but I need to go out there and work on what I need to work on out there,” Sanchez shrugged. “Curveball? I’ve got to go watch (video), but it felt like it was just middlemiddle (of the plate). The good thing is I got ahead of guys, established my fastball, threw some good changeups, so a good day at work. This is the time I use to work on this stuff because it doesn’t really matter here.
“It’s just good to get back out there in action like that, really, competing against other teams. Even though it’s only spring training, it’s been a long while for me. I’m glad I’m out there, but it needs to be better.”
As for Travis, he has not stopped smiling all spring as he works his way back toward being a contributing member of the Jays’ lineup. While he is proving to himself that his repaired knee is sound, he still has mental hurdles to clear.
“Mental definitely is big in coming back from injuries,” Travis said. “I still have to stay on top of it, but mentally for sure is a part of the process. I’m not afraid, though. That’s the thing. My knee feels good, so I don’t have to be tentative. Everything was good.
“It was fun. It’s been a long time. I was just happy I could get back out there. It’s awesome putting back on a uniform and actually putting on cleats and hearing my name called. It was a good first day.”
Not only did Travis finish his five innings healthy, but he chipped in with a hit and a walk, ran the bases with aggression and made a nice defensive play racing into the hole, turning and firing a strike to first base. Now it’s just doing it again and again with the same feeling of being 100-per-cent whole.
“Oh yeah, that’s for sure a test,” Travis said. “I’ve done that in ground balls, but it’s a little different when the game starts. It was a nice little test and I’m glad I passed. So awesome to be able to climb my way up the ladder now working toward nine innings. To play five the first day, three at-bats, was a nice little test for me. I’m excited. I get to have a normal spring training as a baseball player. It’s nice.”
Travis returned to action against the team that originally signed him and dealt him for Anthony Gose. He still had friends across the field, including his first roommate as a pro, second baseman Dixon Machado, who was also leading off.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for a while now, since I found out five days ago I was going to be playing Sunday,” Travis said. “Today is a really nice day and I look forward to many more. It’s always nice to play against your old team and get to see a lot of your buddies. It was good.”
In addition to Travis and Sanchez, note that a year ago Josh Donaldson was not able to compete in the spring until late with a calf injury. On Sunday he was Jays’ DH. Meanwhile, the bottom four in the lineup were all Jays newcomers: Randal Grichuk, Curtis Granderson, Yangervis Solarte and Aledmys Diaz. Changes.
No, different is not always better in baseball, but the fact that Sanchez and Travis returned on the same day made different also encouraging for Jays fans.