Toronto Blue Jays’ Devon Travis watches his RBI double in the third inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on May 14 in Houston, Tex.Scott Halleran/Getty Images
The entrance to the visiting team's clubhouse at NBT Bank Stadium is tucked beneath the right-field stands, a dank, unforgiving area where the players gaze at the unkempt concrete underbelly of the facility on their way out to the field.
The lighting is alleyway-poor.
A sturdy chain link fence separates a walkway from a compound area with a dirt floor that keeps pedestrians out and, presumably, any lurking critters in.
If any place is in need of a breath of fresh air, it is here.
Almost on cue, Devon Travis bursts through the clubhouse door, his personality effervescent as usual.
It is Saturday afternoon and Travis's current team, the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, are in town to play the second of a three-game set against the hometown Chiefs that night.
We say current team because the second baseman is soon to be called back up to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Bisons' major-league affiliate, after missing more than a month with a shoulder injury.
It could happen as early as Monday night, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said last week, with the chance the rookie will rejoin the team in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the Blue Jays will play the first of a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
And even though he has been away, the rookie has been keeping close tabs on the big-league club.
"We just got one back, Bautista singled in the ninth," Travis announces as he glances to the iPhone he is cradling, the device tuned into Saturday's Blue Jays game against the Baltimore Orioles.
That would be as close as Toronto would come on that day, ultimately falling 5-3 to the Orioles.
"They keep in touch very well," Travis said during an interview, referring to the Blue Jays. "All the coaches I keep in touch with. They always text me and see how I'm doing. I'm basically just trying to get back into the flow after missing a month. It's a lot of time to miss. I'm definitely excited to get back up there, though."
It is hard to imagine anything that the 24-year-old is not excited about.
Even his lacklustre performance at the plate in the minors since his return a week ago – 2-for-18 through Saturday's game, his third with the Bisons – does not seem to concern him.
"I feel great," Travis said. "[Friday] night, I hit every single ball on the barrel. I was happy about that. Try not to get too caught up in the numbers right now. Just got to get the timing back."
Although Ryan Goins has been superb as Travis's fill-in during his absence, the Blue Jays' already potent offence will be that much stronger should Travis return to the form he exhibited before he was hurt.
Obtained in a trade during the off-season with the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Anthony Gose, Travis was the surprise of spring training for the Blue Jays, securing the second baseman's job despite never having played above Double-A.
His muscle with the bat has been a revelation. In the first month of the season, Travis hit .325 with six home runs and six doubles in 22 games. For that he was chosen as April's rookie of the month in the American League.
His production started to slip after that, a slide that started on April 30 when a hit scorched off the bat of Brandon Moss in Cleveland jumped up and clipped him in the collarbone at Progressive Field, the Indians home park.
Travis missed the next game with a severe bruise, but returned to the lineup even though he did not feel 100 per cent. He tried to play through the pain, but the inflammation spread to his shoulder.
In hindsight, Travis said he probably should have taken off more than one game when he suffered the initial injury to the collarbone.
"But first year, having a blast," Travis said. "On the bench is not really where you want to be."
The Blue Jays placed him on the disabled list on May 17 and he started playing again for Buffalo on May 29, but had to shut it down again a couple of days later when the shoulder pain returned.
Now, after a good long rest, Travis is hopeful his problems are all behind him.
"Definitely eventful to be sure," is how Travis described his topsy-turvy season. "You know, everything was going so well, having a blast, living the dream, and then, boom, you get hit with a ground ball, try to grind through it. And the next thing you know you find yourself on the disabled list and working your way back. Definitely pretty crazy."
Travis said waiting for the Blue Jays to summon him back has been almost as nerve-racking to him as dealing with the shoulder issue.
"But whenever they call me back, I'll be ready," he said.