Toronto Blue Jays: Analyzing the Anthony Gose-Devon Travis Trade

The Toronto Blue Jays have traded centre fielder Anthony Gose to the Detroit Tigers for second-base prospect Devon Travis, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.

Travis was rated by MLB.com as the Tigers’ no. 4 prospect. The second baseman is coming off an impressive 2014 season with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves, hitting .298/.358/.460 with 10 home runs, 52 RBI and 68 runs scored in 100 games.

It’s likely that the Tigers traded Travis because they felt he was blocked at second base at the major-league level by four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler. Detroit also needed a replacement centre fielder after trading away Austin Jackson during the trade-deadline period last season.

Gose was once considered to be one of Toronto’s top prospects but gradually fell out of favor with the organization, and he spent most of the 2014 season bouncing between the Blue Jays and the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. The 24-year-old has a career slash line of .234/.301/.332 in the majors (202 games).

Acquiring a second baseman was one of the biggest priorities for the Blue Jays heading into the offseason. Toronto used as many as seven players at second base last season, who combined to hit just .247/.295/.340 with a paltry .634 OPS.

It’s unclear how far the Blue Jays intend to push Travis next year. Though the 23-year-old has yet to play at the Triple-A level, he could still have a shot at making the big-league roster with a strong performance in spring training.

Toronto could also opt to have Travis start the season with the Bisons and then call him up later on depending on his performance in the minors. The team has used this approach with third baseman Brett Lawrie in the past.

While he doesn’t hit for power, Travis has an advanced approach at the plate and makes consistent contact with the ball. The right-handed hitter has a career batting average of .323 throughout four minor league seasons and has struck out just 134 times in 993 at-bats.

Travis is also a solid, if unspectacular defender at second base. He’s got a strong throwing arm and has the ability to turn double plays. However, 11 errors in 95 games last season shows that there’s room for improvement. It will be interesting to see how Travis will be able to handle playing on the turf at Rogers Centre.

With Melky Cabrera and Colby Rasmus free agents and Gose now being traded, Kevin Pillar and Dalton Pompey could have the chance to audition for jobs in the Blue Jays outfield during spring training next year. It’s still way too early to talk about this, though, as Toronto could still re-sign Cabrera as well as go after another outfielder during the offseason.

While Gose always had the potential to be a great player, he was never able to put it all together at the major-league level on a consistent basis with the Blue Jays. Though it’s worth noting that Gose is still young and might benefit from a change of scenery.

In Travis, the Blue Jays get a bona fide prospect who has the potential to become an everyday player in the majors and fill the void at arguably the weakest position in Toronto’s lineup at present.

This is a trade that could ultimately end up benefitting all sides.

*All stats are from MLB.com and MiLB.com.