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Travis calls Gurriel a kid, which is interesting. Gurriel turns 25 in October and Travis turned 27 earlier this year. So the age difference isn’t all that different. But because Gurriel has come on the scene late (signed as a free agent by the Jays in Nov. 2016), there has been a ton of attention lavished on him. And Gurriel does have major potential — but so does Travis.

In fact, since returning from an assignment with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on May 22, Travis has hit .295 with five doubles, a triple and five homers with 20 RBI over his last 38 games. He hit his third career grand slam last week in Atlanta and went 4-for-4 on Friday against the Red Sox. He’s also showing that he does have the skill to be an elite second baseman.

Travis may have been a star in the major leagues for a while now if not for frustrating string of injuries suffered since early in his pro career. He missed the entire second half of 2017 with a right knee injury and scuffled early on this year, hitting .170 in April. On April 29, he was demoted for the first time in his career, to Buffalo.

“No excuse at all, but I hadn’t played in a big leagues since about a year and this is a game that if you’re rusty, you’ll get exploited,” Travis saod. “And I think that’s what happened. I got exploited a little bit early (this season).

Travis admitted he was upset when the Jay sent him to Buffalo but understood the reasoning behind it.

“I was the lead-off hitter on opening day, and then sent down three weeks later. It’s tough. It’s real tough,” Travis said. “Oh yeah, I was pissed. There’s no doubt about it. I was PISSED. But at the same time I get it. This is an industry where it’s about what you’re doing now. It’s not about what you’ve done (in the past) and I believe (being sent to Buffalo) was for the better. It gave me a glimpse of somewhere I didn’t want to be, gave me a little more fire.”