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Blue Jays’ Nathan Lukes is on the Injured List due to a left thumb injury
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Jun 9, 2024, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 9, 2024, 15:11 EDT
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A player on the 40-man roster has suffered an injury.
According to numerous sources, Buffalo Bisons’ outfielder Nathan Lukes has suffered a left thumb injury after being scratched from the lineup. He is being evaluated and more information will be available soon enough.
Lukes is on the team’s 40-man roster, meaning that if they want to call him up, they wouldn’t need to designate anyone for assignment if that player has options. He’s also had a great start to his season with the Bisons, as he’s slashing .333/.406/.480 with six homers in 192 plate appearances, along with a 9.9 BB% and a 15.1 K%. His career-high in a season is 11 home runs in 484 plate appearances, and he’s on track to surpass that if this injury isn’t significant.
Those 11 home runs came in 2022, his first season in the organization where he led the Bisons. On top of that, he slashed .285/.364/.425 with a 9.7 BB% and an 18.4 K% in 484 plate appearances for a 111 wRC+. His performance this season led the Blue Jays to add him to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Lukes spent much of the 2023 season on the Blue Jays roster, yet he rarely played. In the times that he did, he had 31 plate appearances in 29 games, slashing .192/.290/.308 with one double and a 67 wRC+. However, his numbers in Buffalo when he played every day were much better, slashing .366/.423/.530 with five homers in 222 plate appearances for a 143 wRC+.
It seemed like Lukes put himself in good position for the Jays to consider him for their roster during Spring Training, as he slashed .450/.500/.600 in 46 Spring Training plate appearances. At the very least, it seemed like he could be the first one called up, but since then, the Blue Jays have called up prospects Spencer Horwitz and Addison Barger, both of whom also bat from the left side and play some outfield.
Hopefully, this injury isn’t major as Lukes has helped the Bisons play well during the 2024 season and is a reliable “AAAA” outfielder with solid defence.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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