Blue Jays' Devon Travis: Skipping Montreal trip to preserve knee

Travis (knee) will stay and work out in Florida, missing the upcoming weekend trip to Montreal because the team doesn't want him playing on the turf at Olympic Stadium, Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star reports.

Analysis:

After he spent most of spring training rehabbing and strengthening his right knee, the Jays will play it safe with their leadoff man in the final weekend of Grapefruit League games. However, he'll have to deal with artificial turf throughout the season, as Toronto's Rogers Centre is one of only two remaining venues in MLB that use it. The other is Tampa's Tropicana Field, where the Jays play their third regular-season game April 6 versus the Rays. Placing Travis on the DL to open the year is still an option, but as of now, he's expected to be ready to take the field in the 2017 opener in Baltimore on April 3.