Tulo’s Season Likely Done, But Devon Travis Feels “Really Good”

Was there ever any doubt? After being placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right ankle sprain a couple of weeks ago, Troy Tulowitzki has been transferred to the 60-day DL, which will essentially end the shortstop’s season. There’s a chance he could return for the final week of the season, but that seems unlikely at this point.

If that’s the case, Tulo’s season will end with 66 games played, 260 plate appearances, seven home runs, 26 RBIs, and a .249/.300/.378 slash line, good for exactly replacement level, according to FanGraphs. That’s a pretty significant drop from the 2.8 WAR he was worth last season, and is even worse than the 1.4 WAR he was worth after being acquired from the Rockies at the trade deadline in 2015.

That’s rough! It certainly wasn’t the season we expected from Tulo, even knowing that he isn’t the same offensive juggernaut he was during his superstar days in Colorado.

So we’ll be riding out the rest of the season with a combination of Ryan Goins, Darwin Barney, and Rob Refsnyder filling the middle of the infield. But there’s some good news!

“I’m definitely getting closer and closer every single day,” Devon Travis said in an interview with Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet. “It’s coming. I continue to listen to what they tell me and as soon as I can get back out there on an assignment, I know I’ll be right on it. I just know that I feel really good. Like, really good.”

That’s very good news!

If Travis is able to return by the end of August, it’ll give the Jays’ bats a massive boost as they won’t have to have two offensive black holes in their lineup. The Jays currently sit four games back of a playoff spot somehow, so if they can manage to stay above water without letting that gap get any bigger, Travis’ return could be exactly what they need to make a charge in September.

I know, I know. It’s unlikely, but hey, competitive baseball in September, am I right?