Travis to have shoulder surgery, done for '15
Second baseman has been sidelined since end of July
ATLANTA -- Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis will undergo exploratory surgery on his left shoulder next week and his season is officially over.
Travis has been out with what the team described as a strained left shoulder since July 29. He was originally expected to return before the end of the year, but the injury didn't heal as anticipated, which left everyone involved in the situation scratching their heads.
The lingering soreness has been a mystery, and while previous MRIs didn't reveal any major structural damage, the exploratory surgery, scheduled for Wednesday, will help determine exactly what went wrong.
"Travis is going in for exploratory surgery, a scope, because they can't pinpoint anything," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.
"The original [injury], he took a ball off the collarbone. He tried to play through it, took a while, came back strong and then one swing."
Travis has been dealing with a left shoulder injury since late April, when he was hit by a line drive during a game against the Indians. He attempted to play through the pain but eventually was placed on the disabled list in May and missed approximately one month.
Video: TOR@CLE: Tough hop strikes Travis on the shoulder
The rookie infielder returned in late June and seemed to be over the shoulder issues, but he aggravated the area during a swing against the Phillies on July 28. He was placed on the disabled list a couple of days after that, and despite a lengthy attempt at rehabbing the injury he wasn't able to make it back.
The fact that Travis is done for the season doesn't come as a surprise and had been assumed for the last couple of weeks, but the latest development makes it official. He finishes the year with a .304 average, eight homers and 35 RBIs in 62 games after winning the starting job at second during Spring Training.
Ryan Goins and Cliff Pennington will continue to play every day up the middle until Troy Tulowitzki returns from a cracked left shoulder blade. If Tulowitzki makes it back before the end of the year, Goins would slide back over to second and Pennington would resume his role as a backup infielder.
"I think he is really good at both of them," Gibbons said of Goins. "I don't think there's a plus or minus either way for him. He's just a great infielder."