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Devon Travis Undergoes Knee Surgery

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Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis underwent surgery to “clean up cartilage” in his injured knee, manager John Gibbons tells Sportsnet’s Mike Wilner (Twitter links). While the procedure wasn’t unexpected, it only further underscores that Travis will be out “awhile.” Per Gibbons, the Blue Jays will go with a platoon of Darwin Barney and Ryan Goins at second base in the absence of Travis.

Toronto has yet to place a formal timeline on Travis’ absence, though the 26-year-old acknowledged last week that the new bone bruise and cartilage damage suffered in the same right knee that he suffered in the offseason would keep him out for an extended period. Travis expressed frustration to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi at the time, explaining that there’s no one incident to which he can tie the injury, which he initially felt after a lengthy flight from Toronto to Oakland.

Travis, who was acquired from the Tigers in exchange for Anthony Gose three years ago, has been a productive force for the Blue Jays when healthy. However, he’s struggled to stay on the field in each of his three seasons with the Jays. In 868 plate appearances with Toronto, Travis has batted .292/.331/.462, but he’s also averaged just 289 plate appearances and 71 games per season (including this year).

AL Roster Notes: Travis, Faria, Kinsler, Hahn

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Devon Travis has suffered a new bone bruise and cartilage damage in his surgically repaired right knee that has prompted the Blue Jays to place him on the 10-day disabled list, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The injury is rather mysterious, it seems as Travis felt fine when boarding a flight to Oakland on Sunday evening but was unable to bend his knee without discomfort when the plane landed. He’ll be examined by the same specialist that performed his offseason knee surgery in the near future, and manager John Gibbons acknowledged to Davidi and other reporters that Travis’ injury won’t be a quick one. There’s no timetable for the return of Travis, who has batted .259/.291/.438 with five homers, four steals and strong defense at second base through his first 50 games of the season.

Here are a few quick roster moves from around the American League.

  • The Rays will promote righty Jacob Faria to make his big-league debut Wednesday in a start against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The 23-year-old Faria has never been regarded as an upper-echelon prospect (he currently ranks ninth among Rays prospects, according to MLB.com), but he’s in the midst of a strong season at Triple-A Durham, with a 3.07 ERA, 3.4 BB/9 and an outstanding 12.9 K/9 in 58 2/3 innings thus far. MLB.com notes that he works in the low 90s, keeps the ball down and has a promising chanegup, although his breaking stuff is usable but below average. Having Faria start Wednesday will give Rays starters Jake Odorizzi, Alex Cobb and Erasmo Ramirez an extra day of rest.
  • The Tigers have announced that they’ve reinstated second baseman Ian Kinsler from the 10-day DL and optioned outfielder JaCoby Jones to Triple-A Toledo. They also announced that catcher James McCann, who suffered a hand laceration after being hit by a pitch late last month, would begin a rehab assignment with Toledo tonight. The Tigers placed Kinsler on the DL on May 27; it appears the hamstring strain that landed him there isn’t especially serious, because he’s back after the minimum time. The 34-year-old is off to a slow start this season, batting .234/.331/.365.
  • The Athletics have announced that they’ve reinstated righty Jesse Hahn (triceps strain) from the 10-day DL and optioned 1B/OF Matt Olson to Triple-A Nashville. Hahn will start tonight against the Blue Jays. Like Kinsler, Hahn spent the minimum required time on the DL. He even made one rehab start with Class A+ Stockton in his brief time on the shelf. The 27-year-old has a 3.81 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings in the big leagues this season. Olson, once one of the Athletics’ top prospects, has collected just four plate appearances in two stints with the big club this year despite batting a terrific .285/.374/.575 in 206 plate appearances for Nashville.

Injury Notes: Werth, Travis, Verlander

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Updates on some developing injury situations from today’s action….

  • Jayson Werth fouled a ball off his left foot on Saturday and was seen on crutches in the Nationals clubhouse following today’s game.  Manager Dusty Baker told MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman (Twitter link) and other reporters that X-rays were negative on Werth’s foot but the situation was “not looking good for” the veteran outfielder.  After two down seasons, Werth has rebounded to hit .262/.367/.446 over 196 PA this year, and a DL stint would further hamper a Washington outfield that has already lost Adam Eaton for the season.
  • X-rays were negative on Devon Travis’ left hand after the Blue Jays second baseman was hit by a Luis Severino pitch in the seventh inning of today’s 3-2 Jays victory.  Travis finished the inning on the basepaths and then left the game.  The club will monitor the situation to see if Travis requires a DL stint, though he seems likely to miss at least a couple of games given his painful description of the injury.  “I thought I broke it. It was really scary. My hand was throbbing so bad, I couldn’t really open it or close it — and I definitely wasn’t about to slide on it and lift myself up on it,” Travis told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other media.  Travis has a .257/.285/.437 overall slash line for his roller-coaster of a season, as he followed up a dreadful April (.388 OPS) with a red-hot May (1.019 OPS).
  • Justin Verlander left during the third inning of today’s 7-4 Tigers win due to groin tightness, a move manager Brad Ausmus said was precautionary in nature (as per MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery and other reporters).  Verlander will undergo an MRI just to make sure there isn’t any significant damage, and Ausmus feels the ace should make his next start, though it could be pushed back a day due to an off-day in Detroit’s schedule.  Verlander is off to a slow start to the 2017 season, with a 4.63 ERA and career highs in BB/9 (4.24) and hard-hit ball rate (34.2%) through 70 innings.

AL East Notes: Thornburg, Donaldson, Travis, Boxberger

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Reliever Tyler Thornburg tops the Red Sox’ list of concerns as the 2017 season approaches, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Thornburg has dealt with dead arm for most of Spring Training so far. The Red Sox gave up a fairly hefty package of talent that included infielder Travis Shaw and prospect Mauricio Dubon to get Thornburg, but so far Thornburg’s Red Sox tenure is off to a rough start — he misinterpreted the Red Sox’ prescribed offseason training regimen, according to Cafardo, and now will probably have to start the season on the disabled list. The Red Sox might end up missing longtime late-inning reliever Koji Uehara, who they allowed to depart for the Cubs. Cafardo notes that Thornburg could join a list of Red Sox relief trade acquisitions who disappointed due to injury, including Carson Smith, Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey — although, of course, Hanrahan and Bailey weren’t acquired under the Red Sox’ current front office, and it’s way, way too early to write Thornburg off. Thornburg pitched an apparently successful bullpen session on Saturday. Here’s more from the AL East.

  • Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldson makes his Spring Training debut today playing DH against Minnesota, John Lott of the Athletic tweets. Donaldson suffered a calf injury near the start of Spring Training and has been out the past month. Donaldson’s return isn’t the only bit of good news for the Jays. Second baseman Devon Travis, who has missed time after having offseason knee surgery, also appears to be returning to health — Lott tweets that Travis expects to make his official spring debut later this week.
  • One player whose injury prognosis isn’t so sunny is Rays reliever Brad Boxberger, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes (all Twitter links). Manager Kevin Cash says Boxberger’s lat injury isn’t improving as quickly as the team had anticipated, and that he’s unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Boxberger struggled with an oblique injury during a poor 2016 season in which he posted a 4.81 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 7.0 BB/9 in just 24 1/3 innings. His absence could create an opportunity for recent waiver claim Jumbo Diaz, who’s about to return to the Rays after pitching in the World Baseball Classic, according to Topkin.

Injury Notes: Travis, Kazmir, Dodgers, Carpenter, Rojas

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The Blue Jays aren’t sure when second baseman Devon Travis will be ready to return to game action, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Manager John Gibbons seemed to suggest to Nicholson-Smith that the club could be without Travis, come Opening Day, as the 26-year-old’s recovery from knee surgery has been slower than the team expected. “To be honest I don’t know when he’s going to be back and ready to go,” said Gibbons. “It’s one of those things where if it costs him a couple of weeks, or whatever it might be, at the beginning of the season, so be it. … I expected him, to be honest, to be a little further along than he is.” As Nicholson-Smith points out, that could prove advantageous for out-of-options infielder Ryan Goins, who could break camp with the team if Travis ultimately starts the year on the disabled list. Goins and Darwin Barney, then, would presumably be the Jays’ primary options at second base, although Toronto has also been linked to Brett Lawrie since his surprising release by the White Sox last week.

More injury news from around the league…

  • Scott Kazmir’s MRI revealed no signs of a serious injury in his problematic left hip, as ESPN’s Doug Padilla writes. Kazmir exited yesterday’s Cactus League start after throwing his first pitch of the second inning and expressed frustration about his hip following the game. It’s not clear when Kazmir will return to a mound for the Dodgers just yet, Padilla adds, though the 33-year-old told the media that he’s pain free and is only experiencing limited mobility.
  • First baseman Matt Carpenter will be out for “at least another week” due to lower back tightness that has sidelined him since last Wednesday, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Carpenter, who will slide across the diamond for the Cardinals this season (with Jhonny Peralta manning third base), was forced to withdraw from the 2017 World Baseball Classic due to his back troubles.
  • Dodgers non-roster invitee Henry Ramos will be out for a considerably longer amount of time (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick). Manager Dave Roberts revealed to the media on Tuesday that the soon-to-be 25-year-old outfielder will miss the next four to six weeks of action due to a sports hernia/right groin injury. Ramos, who batted .263/.306/.402 between Boston’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates last season, wasn’t likely to crack Los Angeles’ roster anyhow, of course, but he’ll now be delayed in beginning his minor league campaign as well.
  • Marlins infielder Miguel Rojas was forced to exit Tuesday’s Grapefruit League game after being struck in the head on a throw down to second base from catcher Tomas Telis, writes Glenn Sattell of MLB.com. As Rojas explains the situation, the grass in front of second base was “really wet,” which caused Telis’ throw following a wild pitch to take an unexpected hop upon bouncing. “I wasn’t expecting the ball to go that high,” said Rojas. “I’m glad I could quickly turn my head. It hit me in the [side of the head] instead of my eye.” Rojas will undergo concussion testing after telling the training staff that he was “feeling a little dizzy and uncomfortable.”

AL East Notes: Bautista, Encarnacion, Travis, Price, Red Sox Catchers

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Let’s take a look at a few recent notes out of the AL East:

  • Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista still seems likely to depart in free agency, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes. While Toronto figures to have some level of interest, it probably won’t outbid the market for a player who has been the organization’s biggest star. While it’s never worth putting too much stock in postseason results, it may not help that he has just four hits and six walks in his 35 plate appearances in this year’s playoff action — though Bautista did enjoy a productive stretch to end the regular season.
  • Fellow star Blue Jays slugger Edwin Enarnacion still seems most likely to head to the Red Sox this winter, Heyman suggests. While Boston has given some signals that it may not go big for a free agent bat, the team does appear to represent a good fit for a player who raked for most of the year. Other potential landing spots, per Heyman, include the Yankees and Rangers. For what it’s worth, Encarnacion’s overall postseason results have been quite good: he’s slashing .323/.400/.645 with three home runs and four walks against just three strikeouts.
  • Devon Travis wasn’t able to carry on for the Blue Jays in the ALCS and won’t play again in 2016 due to a knee injury. He has continued to put up good numbers when healthy, but a variety of ailments have clouded his long-term outlook. Heyman does say that Toronto expects him to be ready for a full spring next year, but notes “there’s concern about his ability to stay healthy” within the organization.
  • Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald examines the case of Red Sox lefty David Price, who never quite seemed to gain his footing in Boston and has continued to come up short in the postseason. Unlike Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw, who has excelled this year after several notable disappointments in the playoffs, Price is still awaiting his time for redemption. Two general managers who employed Price in the past — Andrew Friedman and Alex Anthopoulos — discussed his situation, both suggesting that he has the competitive fire and track record to suggest he’s still a good bet to perform when the stakes are highest.
  • While the Red Sox have several options behind the plate in 2017, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal questions whether the overall quality is sufficient. Sandy Leon’s hard-to-fathom breakout stalled late in the year, Christian Vazquez never found his groove at the plate, Blake Swihart was moved to the outfield at Triple-A before a season-ending ankle injury, and veteran Ryan Hanigan posted an injury-plagued, anemic offensive season. All said, adding depth wouldn’t make much sense, and it’s not clear that there’ll be an opportunity to find a top-quality backstop this winter. That could leave Boston with some tough questions — beginning with a call on Hanigan’s $3.75MM option (which comes with a $800K buyout). As MacPherson notes, too, both Leon and Vasquez lack remaining options. While Swihart does have one more option year remaining, his most recent usage suggests that the organization isn’t bullish on his ability to stick behind the dish.

Devon Travis To Miss Rest Of Postseason

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SUNDAY: An MRI on Travis’ knee revealed a bone bruise with a small flap of cartilage caught in the joint, according to the Blue Jays. A knee scope is likely for Travis, whom the team expects to be ready for Spring Training.

SATURDAY: Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis’ season is over after suffering a knee injury, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star was among those to report (Twitter links: 1 2 3). Travis has been replaced on the Jays’ ALCS roster by Justin Smoak.

Notably, Travis had already suffered a knee injury this postseason, having suffered a bone bruise during the ALDS. Jays GM Ross Atkins claims, though, that Travis’ current knee troubles are unrelated, a condition that had to be met for Major League Baseball to approve a roster change at this point. MLB postseason roster rules also state that a player who has been replaced in the middle of a series due to an injury cannot play for the rest of the postseason, which means Travis can’t return for the World Series, should the Blue Jays advance.

Travis hit .300/.332/.454 in 432 plate appearances in the regular season. He has batted 1-for-12 this postseason, sharing playing time at second with Darwin Barney. Barney and Ryan Goins will presumably handle second base in his absence.

Joaquin Benoit Out 2-3 Weeks With Torn Calf Muscle

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4:37pm: Benoit is in the Jays’ clubhouse, tweets Nicholson-Smith, and says that he’s been told he could be ready to return in two to three weeks. He’s currently wearing a walking boot and using crutches.

3:35pm: Blue Jays right-hander Joaquin Benoit, who left the park on crutches last night, has been diagnosed with a torn calf muscle, manager John Gibbons told reporters, including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter links). Benoit suffered the injury while running in from the bullpen on the heels of a benches-clearing brawl. Worsening matters for the Blue Jays is the fact that Gibbons also said that second baseman Devon Travis got his shoulder “tangled up in the brawl” and subsequently aggravated it on a swing. He’s now day to day with said injury.

For the Blue Jays, the loss is significant, especially when considering the nature in which Benoit’s injury occurred. Since coming over from the Mariners in exchange for Drew Storen, Benoit has pitched to a brilliant 0.38 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 3.4 BB.9 in 23 2/3 innings of work. While injuries are a natural part of the game, incurring one in the midst of what was a senseless and entirely avoidable brawl last night is undoubtedly frustrating for both the team and fans alike.

Looking to the future, the injury is clearly disheartening for Benoit, who will presumably be unable to participate in the postseason and will also enter the free agent market on the heels of an injury. While the calf tear probably won’t impact his stock in the same manner that an arm injury at the age of 39 would, it nonetheless deprives him of the opportunity to further distance himself from what was a dreadful first three months of the season while pitching with the Mariners. Benoit struggled to a 5.18 ERA with Seattle due largely to poor control and a susceptibility to home runs, but he righted both of those trends to a large extent while pitching with the Jays and had done quite a bit of work to rebuild some of his free agent stock.

AL East Notes: Travis, Sox Pen, Sanchez

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Second baseman Devon Travis is on his way back up to the Blue Jays, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). He’ll finally make it back from shoulder issues that have kept him away from the club since late last July. Travis impressed in his first 239 big league plate appearances, putting up a .304/.361/.498 slash with eight home runs. Even if he can’t keep up that pace, there’s every hope that he’ll significantly upgrade a unit that owns one of the league’s least productive batting lines.

Here are a few more notes from the AL East:

  • The loss of Carson Smith leaves the Red Sox in need of an additional quality pen arm, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes. That’s not to say there’s any particular rush to the trade market, which president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made clear would not be the case. But Drellich argues that the organization needs to begin lining up targets for the summer. Meanwhile, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford takes a look at a few possibilities who could be available.
  • Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez suffered what GM Brian Cashman is calling a “cracked thumb” in last night’s action, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beat writer Shane Hennigan tweets. The 23-year-old is one of the game’s most highly-regarded backstop prospects, and seemed ready for a full shot at the majors after opening the year with a .290/.333/.529 slash in 147 plate appearances. Of course, the Yankees are all set at the big league level for the time being. The club will hope that the injury won’t take too big a chunk out of Sanchez’s season, but his outlook remains unclear at present.

Injury Notes: Canha, Boxberger, Norris, Cashner, Brantley, Gallardo, Travis, Chirinos

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Athletics first baseman/outfielder Mark Canha is weighing surgery to repair a hip impingement, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Undergoing the procedure would keep him out the rest of the way, per the report, but he’s still undecided and will seek a second opinion. It seems that he’ll at least try out a cortisone shot before going under the knife. The 27-year-old had a strong 2015 season, sticking as a Rule 5 pick, but has come out of the gates with a meager .122/.140/.341 slash in 44 plate appearances in 2016.

Here are some more injury updates from around the game that are worthy of note:

  • Rays closer Brad Boxberger, who is on the mend from core muscle surgery dating back to Spring Training, threw 22 pitches in an extended Spring Training game yesterday, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. If Boxberger feels good today, he’ll likely begin a rehab assignment early next week (possibly Monday) with an eye toward returning late in the month of May. Boxberger led the American League with 41 saves in 2015 and would immediately deepen a bullpen that ranks 10th in the Majors in ERA but carries a more troubling ranking of 25th in the FIP department.
  • The Padres had originally planned to carry three catchers for a short time following the claim of Hector Sanchez, but a hand injury to Derek Norris last night now makes the decision to claim Sanchez all the more critical, writes Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Norris was hit on the hand by a pitch and would ultimately leave the game, and while initial x-rays were negative, he’s undergoing further tests today. Interestingly, Lin notes that the Sanchez claim, initially, would’ve allowed the Padres to use Christian Bethancourt as a pinch-hitter, and there was even some talk of him getting some work in at third base (scouting reports have long touted his arm as an 80-grade tool). However, if Norris is found to have any kind of fracture and will miss some time, those plans will change.
  • Meanwhile, the Padres decided to put righty Andrew Cashner on the 15-day DL today after determining that his hamstring wasn’t quite ready to go, as Lin tweets. It certainly doesn’t appear to be a major injury, since Cashner very nearly was allowed to pitch tonight, but it’s nonetheless notable. After all, San Diego doesn’t appear to be primed to contend this year, and Cashner could be an important trade piece — or qualifying offer recipient, if he can really turn things around. But he’s currently allowing just under five earned runs per nine, with ERA estimators not much more optimistic.
  • Michael Brantley’s surgically repaired shoulder is fatigued, reports Cleveland.com’s Zack Meisel, which prompted the Indians to rest him on Tuesday and Wednesday in advance of yesterday’s off-day. Brantley will take batting practice today and be re-evaluated. Per Meisel, Brantley’s shoulder has not been “bouncing back in ideal fashion” following an increase in playing time for the team’s star player. Brantley underwent shoulder surgery over the winter, and while earlier projections had him possibly remaining on the disabled list well into May, he instead beat that timeline by a good margin and was in the Indians’ lineup in late April.
  • Orioles righty Yovani Gallardo is set to begin throwing again tomorrow, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. It’s been a three-week gap since he last picked up a baseball, and Gallardo is only expected to engage in a light toss. His timeline to return to action from a shoulder injury remains uncertain, with at least a couple rehab outings seemingly in his future even if things go well.
  • The Blue Jays, meanwhile, now have reason to believe that second baseman Devon Travis will soon be back. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets that Travis is heading out on a rehab assignment, which will begin a maximum twenty-day stretch in the minors. So long as Travis progresses, he ought to be back in Toronto by early June, it would appear. The 25-year-old burst onto the scene early last year, but he hasn’t played since late July after undergoing a procedure on his left shoulder.
  • Likewise, Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos has been able to throw for each of the last five days, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. That’s certainly promising, given that he’s recovering from a broken right forearm. Chirinos won’t be eligible to come off of the 60-day DL until June 9th, but Texas would surely like to get him back as close to that date as possible.

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