Just when Nathan Lukes was getting hot, it all fell apart.

Lukes hit a lead-off double for the Toronto Blue Jays in Friday’s 8-6 loss against the Cleveland Guardians last weekend. However, he was then removed from the game. The next day, Lukes was added to the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring.

The injury came right after Lukes started to turn his season around. He was 2-for-32 to start the season, with both those hits being singles. For much of the first three weeks of the season, Lukes looked utterly lost at the plate. He had a 44.2% chase rate, up significantly from 2025, when he swung on 31.4 percent of pitches outside the zone.

However, it turned out there was a very good reason Lukes was struggling both on and off the field.

Since spring training, Lukes had been dealing with vertigo, causing bouts of dizziness and nausea. No doubt, that would make it incredibly hard for anyone to be competitive at the plate.

While in Phoenix for the Blue Jays’ series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Lukes visited a vertigo specialist. The results speak for themselves. Lukes had seven hits in 11 at-bats against the Diamondbacks, including during a first-inning onslaught by the Blue Jays in the final game of the series.

Lukes carried that momentum after the Blue Jays left Phoenix. Before visiting the specialist, Lukes amassed a .065/.118/.065 slash line. Over the next seven games, Lukes was slashing .524/.545/.714, including four extra-base hits. Things seemed to be turning around for him until he strained his hamstring against the Guardians.

Another injury is the last thing the Blue Jays need at the moment. They started the season with six players on the IL (Starting pitchers, Trey Yesavage, José Berríos, Shane Bieber, and Bowden Francis, relief pitcher Yimi Garcia, and outfielder Anthony Santander). Since the season began, Cody Ponce sprained his ACL in his first start with the Blue Jays, Alejandro Kirk fractured his thumb, Addison Barger injured his ankles, and George Springer fractured his toe.

Lukes had been one of the hottest hitters for the Blue Jays after seeing the specialist. With three of their best batters in Kirk, Barger, and Springer sidelined (until yesterday), the Blue Jays needed any offensive output they could get. Lukes played a big role in the Blue Jays’ offence coming to life.

The Jays outfielder had been filling in Springer’s role as the leadoff hitter for the Blue Jays against right-handed pitchers. Springer is back in the lineup, which is a good sign for the Blue Jays’ offence. Although nothing sums up the Blue Jays’ start to 2026 quite like replacing Lukes as the leadoff hitter when Springer got injured, only to have Lukes get injured himself, right when he was getting hot.

In response to Lukes going on the IL, the Blue Jays called up their 10th-ranked prospect, Yohendrick Piñango, from the Buffalo Bisons. Piñango picked up his first MLB hit during Sunday’s game against the Guardians. To make space on the 40-man roster, the Blue Jays moved Garcia to the 60-day IL, though there has been no change to his timeline as he recovers from right elbow surgery.

Lukes was coming off a breakout season in 2025. Lukes had played 51 MLB games before the 2025 season and had spent 10 years in the minors. Finally, he became a regular member of a major league roster, playing in 135 games with the Blue Jays. In 388 at-bats, he had a .255/.323/.407 slash line. Lukes had the seventh-most hits (99), seventh-most home runs (12), and the sixth-most RBI (65), while striking out 13.7 percent of the time.

Lukes then played a big role in the Blue Jays’ postseason run, including hitting a two-run single in Game 4 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees to help the Blue Jays advance to the ALCS. He slashed .274/.328/.339 in the playoffs, including 17 hits and eight RBI.

Despite being a big part of the Blue Jays’ success in 2025, every day playing wasn’t guaranteed for Lukes in 2026. The Blue Jays acquired Jesus Sanchez in a trade with the Houston Astros at the end of the offseason, which added to an already long list of potential outfielders the Blue Jays had available. Kazuma Okamoto taking over at third base also meant that Addison Barger would likely spend most of his time in right field.

Lukes’ disastrous start to 2026 further jeopardized the likelihood that he would be a regular part of the Blue Jays’ lineup, especially with Sanchez having a strong start to his tenure with the Blue Jays. Thankfully for Lukes, he was able to at least manage his challenges with vertigo. Once he was feeling better, he made it very clear why he’s earned his place in the Blue Jays lineup. Unfortunately, just as soon as he did that, he faced another setback.

The good news for Lukes and the Blue Jays is that he’s shown a great ability to battle back from adversity. It’s rare to hear about players spending 10 years in the minors before seeing regular playing time in MLB. Lukes not only did that, but he was an integral part of a Blue Jays team that came within inches of winning the World Series.

It’s also rare to hear about a baseball player continuing to play while dealing with vertigo. He was able to push through that and find his footing despite a horrible start to the season. A hamstring injury is the last thing he, or the Blue Jays, needs, but if there’s anyone who can handle it, it’s Nathan Lukes.

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