Toronto Blue Jays: Players who have impressed in spring training

Devon Travis

If there’s a player who fans should be optimistic about based off of spring training alone, it’s Devon Travis. The main reason is that he has not been held back unlike past years.

Shoulder and knee injuries have taken their toll on the 27-year-old especially the rehab from shoulder surgery according to The Canadian Press.

It was telling when Travis played in consecutive games which is not something the team wanted to do in the past. While there is some doubting that he can remain healthy throughout the season, that is not a concern for the Florida native.

"“Stay healthy,” when asked about his goals for this season. “I just want to be there for my team when it counts. I understand that September is more important than April and I have to do whatever I can to get to that point."

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The impact Travis has at the plate is often forgotten because of the limited time he has been able to remain healthy. In the 2015 and 2016 seasons, he was hitting above .300 but injuries forced him out of the lineup.

As Gregor Chisholm wrote for MLB.com, Travis is capable of carrying the offensive load especially with his ability to hit for extra bases. It would be a major benefit for a team that struggled to score runs last season.

It will help with the moves they made in the offseason that looked to maximize the offensive output especially form the bench. However, health and consistency from players like Travis and Josh Donaldson will be vital to ensuring that this team doesn’t fall behind rival teams in the AL East.

In 42 at-bats this spring, Travis has two home runs and five RBI hitting a slash line of .262.317/462. If he can play close to or more than 130 games this season, Travis could hit 20+ home runs but the main goal is to remain off the disabled list.

There seems to be no issue with that so far this spring which can hopefully mean nothing but good things to look forward to from Travis in 2018.