ROSTER MOVES: 🔹 OF Yohendrick Piñango has been selected to the Major League roster and will be active for today’s game 🔹 OF Nathan Lukes placed on 10-day IL (left hamstring strain) 🔹 RHP Yimi García transferred to the 60-day IL
Nathan Lukes heads to IL as Blue Jays’ injuries mount
Photo credit: © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Apr 25, 2026, 12:15 EDTUpdated: Apr 25, 2026, 12:13 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays’ 2026 injury woes continued to rear its ugly head on Saturday morning.
Before Saturday afternoon’s game, the Blue Jays announced that outfielder Nathan Lukes is heading to the injured list with a strained left hamstring, a day after leaving Friday night’s 8-6 loss to the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning.
Lukes led off the bottom of the first inning with a line drive to right field off Guardians ace Gavin Williams. The injury appeared to occur as Lukes was rounding first base, after deciding to test Chase DeLauter’s arm in right field. The 31-year-old slid in safely to second base but was removed from the game immediately after a visit from Blue Jays manager John Schneider and head athletic trainer Jose Ministral.
The timing of the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for Lukes, as after an ice-cold start at the plate where it was revealed the outfielder was dealing with vertigo, Lukes started to heat up, having gone 11-for-21 over his past seven games with six RBIs. Through 20 games this season, Lukes is batting .250 with eight RBIs and an on-base percentage of .286.
Lukes was one of the surprising storylines on the Blue Jays team from a year ago. A veteran of only 102 at-bats heading into last season, Lukes broke out batting .255 with 12 home runs and 65 RBIs before batting .274 with eight RBIs during the Blue Jays’ run to the World Series.
In a corresponding move, the Blue Jays announced that outfielder Yohendrick Piñango was called up from Triple-A Buffalo. In 22 games with the Bisons this season, Piñango is batting .288 with three home runs and 13 RBIs while getting on-base at a .370 clip. To make room for Piñango on the 40-man roster, reliever Yimi García was transferred to the 60-day IL. García still remains on track in his return from right elbow surgery.
Piñango is the Blue Jays’ 10th-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and was acquired alongside infielder Josh Rivera as part of the return for right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson prior to the 2024 MLB trade deadline. If Piñango appears in a game, it will mark the 23-year-old’s MLB debut.
Prior to Friday night’s loss, Schneider told the media that George Springer could return from the 10-day IL in the next day or so without requiring a rehab assignment. Springer has progressed to hitting and dynamic running drills, with the last remaining hurdle being running the bases, which is supposed to take place this weekend at the Rogers Centre. An imminent Springer return would provide a much-needed boost to the Blue Jays’ lineup that has struggled out of the gates in 2026.