After the 2024 trade deadline sell-off, the Toronto Blue Jays pivoted from this season and looked towards the next. This movement and shift in priorities saw internal players get a chance at the big league level, including outfielder Nathan Lukes who made his big league debut last season with the Jays at the age of 29-years-old.

The outfielder has been grinding his way to the Majors after being drafted in 2015 by Cleveland, finally making a breakthrough last year. He played sparingly throughout the campaign and was a late cut this spring, heading back down to triple-A where he put up strong numbers for the Bisons. Lukes posted a .333/.403/.469 slash line with the Bisons and added seven doubles, seven home runs, and 31 RBIs to the tune of a .871 OPS. He likely would have joined the active roster sooner had he not suffered a thumb injury in early June, which kept him on the sidelines until mid-August.

After being recalled on August 30th, the left-handed batter continued his torrid stretch and has produced a .818 OPS through 21 games and 74 at-bats with the Jays. With the injury to Daulton Varsho, Lukes has seen his playing time increase as well – as the Jays are not using him as a pinch runner or defensive replacement but instead in a starting capacity (starting all but two games so far).

The Jays outfielder has six multi-hit games since being promoted, including a four-hit contest against Minnesota where he was a home run shy of the cycle, and he produced his first big league home run earlier today – a solo shot over the right field wall off of starter Xzavion Curry. Defensively, Lukes holds his own – amassing a 2 bDRS split between all three positions – but has produced better numbers in the corner spots compared to centre field.

With a strong showing to round out the 2024 season, Lukes enters next year knocking on the door for an increased role at the big league level.

While he is on the wrong side of the coin for a prospect in terms of age, there is a lot to like about Lukes and his ability to handle more reps in the Majors. He has shown this season that he can handle a bat well and is versatile enough to play all the outfield positions, which should bode well for the Oregon product.

Lukes also has two more options at his disposal should he struggle or get squeezed again in the business side of the game, and is still eligible for pre-arbitration for the next two years.

The biggest question will be whether that increased opportunity will come with the Blue Jays or if the club will potentially trade him away this winter to improve other areas of the roster.

Toronto will enter next season with Daulton Varsho, George Springer, Jonatan Clase, Steward Berrora, and Joey Loperfido all looking for playing time alongside Lukes while Barger and Davis Schneider can also play the corner outfield spots.

Varsho may begin next season on the IL given his recent rotator cuff surgery so there is an opportunity to be had for the internal options but it also wouldn’t be surprising if the front office finds an outfielder to add some firepower to the lineup this free agent window – a need for the organization. Factor in that other prospects like Alan Roden, Charles McAdoo, Will Robertson, or Braden Barry will be looking to make an impact next spring and the window for opportunity appears to be tight for Lukes.

This is why it might make sense for both the Jays and Lukes if he is moved this winter, as the Jays can likely get a reliever or arm for his services while the outfielder can get a chance to play every day for another organization, or at least with more consistency than he would get with the Jays.

Regardless if whether Lukes stays with the Blue Jays this winter or is moved to another organization, the lefty-batter has put himself in a good spot for next season after a strong 2024 season split between triple-A and the MLB.