MONTREAL -- Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis did not make the trip to Montreal for a two-game exhibition series vs. the Pirates starting Friday night, but he will be with the club on Opening Day in Baltimore.
Toronto decided to keep Travis off the turf at Olympic Stadium, and he remained in Florida instead to appear in Minor League games.
Travis will begin the year as Toronto's starting second baseman and regular leadoff hitter. He missed the first month of Spring Training as he continued to recover from last year's knee surgery but began to turn a corner a couple of weeks ago and has since been cleared to play.
"He's down in the Minor Leagues right now, he's going to get some more work in. Unless something flares up on him, I think he's good to go," manager John Gibbons said. "The last few games he played there were no signs of his knee hurting and he really swung the bat well. I was a little bit concerned that he wasn't going to play enough and it would affect his hitting; no signs of that either."
Final cuts coming Saturday
Gibbons said he would reveal Toronto's official 25-man roster following Saturday afternoon's game. The Blue Jays have settled on most of their roster but a couple of cuts still need to be made that will affect the bullpen, the infield and possibly even the outfield.
The final position-player spot will be given to either Melvin Upton Jr. or Ryan Goins. Upton would appear to be the clear favorite because of his ability to play left field vs. lefties and as a potential pinch-runner. The only problem is that Goins is out of options and would have to clear waivers before he can be sent to the Minors.
In the bullpen, there are two spots up for grabs and three candidates. Lefty Aaron Loup seems like a lock, while the final position would go to either Dennis Tepera or Mike Bolsinger. Tepera has been the better pitcher this spring, but he might be a bit of a long shot because he has options remaining, while Bolsinger does not.
"We'll sit down tonight, I'm sure, after the game and talk about a couple of things and then after tomorrow's game we'll make our final decision," Gibbons said. "I think we have a pretty good idea but it may be something that goes down to the wire."