Blue Jays leadoff debate shouldn't end with Travis

In recent days, Devon Travis had taken some significant steps toward returning to full strength from his knee issues and taking his rightful place in the Toronto Blue Jays lineup.

On Monday, the second baseman ran sprints in Dunedin, and Tuesday he takes his first at-bats of the spring as a designated hitter in a minor-league contest.

These developments far from guarantee that Travis will be ready to open the season with the Blue Jays, but they are undoubtedly steps in the right direction. John Gibbons can feel a little more comfortable in assuming he’s going to have his leadoff hitter back sooner than later – even if Travis doesn’t make the team’s opening trip to Baltimore.

What Gibbons should feel a little less sure about is whether he should be pencilling the 26-year-old’s name into the first spot in the lineup. The temptation to do so is understandable. Travis hits .300, he’s got a little quickness, and he’s a good enough hitter to justifying taking more at-bats than anyone else on the team. Moreover, since Jose Reyes departed there hasn’t been an obvious leadoff man in Toronto’s midst. It’s easy to see why Travis is perceived to be the best option.

The issue is that the Blue Jays second baseman very quietly has the offensive profile of a run producer, not a lineup topper. When it comes to drawing walks and getting on base, Travis has been relatively close to league-average.

Conversely, his batting average and slugging percentage – statistics more in line with his ability to bring in runners on base – are significantly above average. With men aboard, he gets hits more frequently than his peers with more extra-base pop.

Because Travis is small and quick, the inclination is to paint him as a top-of-the-order guy. In fact, his skill set falls much more in line with a hitter who brings his teammates around to score.

The idea that he isn’t an ideal leadoff man isn’t novel, and frankly its rather irrelevant if the Blue Jays don’t have a viable alternative. The truth of the matter is that they don’t have one player who represents an obvious upgrade over Travis in the role, but if they’re willing to mix and match creatively there is likely a better solution.

When the Blue Jays are facing southpaws, Melvin Upton Jr. is the club’s best option to take the first at-bat. Over the past two seasons, Upton has hit .267/.352/.492 against left-handers with a sturdy 11.8 percent walk rate. He would also bring the kind of speed element to the role traditionalists crave. Travis has also been significantly worse against opposite-handed pitchers in his career so far, making it a wise call.

If the Blue Jays face a right-hander, finding a Travis alternative is a little tougher. Jose Bautista is always an option, but both he and Gibbons would prefer his power to remain the middle of the lineup. Ezequiel Carrera and Kevin Pillar simply don’t provide enough offence to justify the assignment. With a dearth of traditional candidates, an outside-the-box option with potential would be Russell Martin.

Although Martin is coming off a poor offensive season by his standards, he still posted a better OBP than Travis and really came around after an awful start. The 34-year-old catcher is no threat to run, but in front of sluggers like Bautista and Josh Donaldson stealing bases need not be a priority. Martin took his walks at a healthy 12 percent clip last year, and would be standing on first base for Donaldson in the first inning of ballgames with consistency – if given the opportunity. Even if his strikeout problems from 2016 persist, he will be whiffing more often with no one on base, and that’s when there’s no particular advantage to putting the ball in play.

There would be games where Martin needs a break and there’s a right-hander on the mound, but those contests would be relatively few and far between. The Blue Jays could patch that hole with Travis, resort to Carrera or Pillar as a band-aid, or even go non-traditional again with Steve Pearce, who’s posted an OBP above .370 in two of the past three seasons.

Travis has the look of a leadoff hitter and Toronto needs a guy to hit first, but that doesn’t mean the puzzle pieces fit. Although Gibbons is a manager who likes defined roles, a willingness to be more flexible would serve him well in this case. Just because Travis is making his way back, it doesn’t mean it’s time to close the book on the leadoff question.