The Toronto Blue Jays have optioned struggling infielder Devon Travis to Triple-A Buffalo and promoted right-handed pitcher Carlos Ramirez.
Through 18 games this season, Travis is posting a .148/.212/.246 slash line and has been worth minus-0.4 WAR, per FanGraphs.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons doesn't expect Travis to be stashed in the minors for long, but thinks the infielder needs to get a bit more work, according to Mike Wilner of Sportsnet.
The 27-year-old has run into injury trouble since being acquired by the Blue Jays back in 2014, limiting him to 231 games over the past four seasons. Since the beginning of the 2016 campaign, Travis has managed just 68 outings and has posted a 72 OPS+, 28 percentage points below the league average.
The roster move comes in the wake of the Blue Jays promoting Lourdes Gurriel Jr. directly from Double-A. The 24-year-old middle infielder hit the first home run of his young career during Saturday's game against the Texas Rangers.
Ramirez, 27, made his major-league debut last year, throwing 16 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays and managing a 2.70 ERA over 12 relief appearances. Over six innings in Triple-A this year, he owns a 6.00 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.
