Entering the 2024 season, the Toronto Blue Jays had limited spots available after an offseason where the club stocked on quantity regarding veteran talent. The Jays already had a tight bench with the emergence of Davis Schneider last season and utility player Cavan Biggio, so much so that the Jays shipped off Otto Lopez and Santiago Espinal to clear some roster space.

For Nathan Lukes, the veteran minor leaguer was looking to return to the big leagues after cracking last year’s Opening Day roster as the fourth outfielder and then spending some time on the options bus between the big leagues and triple-A. He spent more time playing defence and pinch-running but still amassed 26 at-bats before the Jays were sent home in early October.

This year, Lukes would begin the season in triple-A as one of the last cuts of Spring Training, putting on an impressive showing at the plate – going 18 for 40 (.450) with six RBIs and five walks – but getting squeezed out with the re-signing of Kevin Kiermaier, the signing of Justin Turner and Daniel Vogelbach, and the strong spring had by Ernie Clement.

From there, Lukes would continue his hot spring start into the regular season, posting a .320/.385/.464 slash line through the end of May. He was knocking on a return to the big leagues as June rolled around but an injury to his thumb saw him hit the 60-day IL, putting him on the shelf for most of the month, all of July, and the early part of August. A rehab stint in Dunedin and a return to Buffalo by mid-August saw Lukes continue to mash the baseball as he got some more playing time under his belt. Had he not been injured, he likely would have been brought to the active roster after the numerous trade deadline moves.

Lukes eventually made his way to Toronto on August 30th and immediately impacted the series against Minnesota. He collected five hits through the three-game series – highlighted by a four-hit performance on the Saturday contest that saw him just a home run shy of the cycle with two RBIs kicked in.

The California product continued to get regular at-bats to round out the month of September and finished the year with a .303/.371/.447 slash line to go along with four doubles, two triples, and 10 RBIs. Lukes also collected his first big league home run – a 341-foot blast off Marlins pitcher Xzavion Curry to right field – and finished with a .818 OPS and one stolen base.

Defensively, the 30-year-old split most of his time between the corner outfield spots with just 26 innings in centre field and authored a +5 DRS with four outfield assists and one error.

Looking back on the season, it was an unfortunate injury for Lukes that had him sidelined for a period when the Jays could have used him given the injury to Kiermaier and the trade deadline moves. He likely lost roughly 100-200 plate appearances because of it but the strong end to the year has him gaining some attention for increased looks next season.

It will be a tough road again for Lukes given the increased depth the Jays acquired this summer in the outfield in Joey Loperfido and Jonatan Clase, not to forget Alan Roden who is looking to make an impact with the big league squad next year as well. The one wrinkle is that Daulton Varsho could be delayed to start the year after undergoing surgery on his shoulder this offseason, which could open a door for the likes of Lukes or Clase to squeeze into the roster should Varsho not be ready to go for Opening Day.

Lukes could also be a potential trade target this winter, moving to a team where he could likely make more of an impact regularly in the outfield. Time will only tell with that.

Overall, while Lukes missed some considerable time on the IL, it was a successful season for the outfielder in both triple-A and the big leagues where he proved his bat can hit for extra bases and with consistency. A strong spring next year will go a long way for his future but for now, he has set himself up for success heading into the offseason.