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Blue Jays: There’s no justifying sending Yohendrick Piñango down right now
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
May 24, 2026, 18:00 EDTUpdated: May 24, 2026, 18:23 EDT
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Option years be damned, Yohendrick Piñango has cemented himself as a regular in the Toronto Blue Jays lineup.
Called up in late April when Nathan Lukes went down with hamstring strain, Piñango slashed .423/.444/.462 with a double and 10 singles in 27 plate appearances, giving him a 162 wRC+. Upon Addison Barger’s return, it was a numbers game, as Piñango was optioned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
Unfortunately, Barger was placed on the injured list shortly after, forcing the Jays to re-call Piñango. And now, it looks as if the 24-year-old left-handed batting outfielder is here to stay.
Piñango has established himself as one of the best hitters on the team. In terms of statistics, Piñango’s 120 wRC+ leads the team, ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho, and every other player on the roster. Piñango recently hit his first career home run and has a K% of just 16.9%, rather impressive given the power in his bat.
But Piñango’s value runs deeper than that. The underlying metrics are solid. Bat speed is important for power, and he averages 75.3 mph on his swings. Although he’s only hit one home run, he’s due for some more, as Piñango hits the ball hard. This past week, Piñango hit a ball 114.8 mph off the bat, one of the hardest-hit balls this season. That type of power tends to lead to extra-base hits, something the Jays need moving forward.
He doesn’t sell out of power either. There’s some chase in his game (32.1%), but Piñango has a 20% whiff %, above the 75th percentile if he were a qualified hitter. Piñango also passes the eye test in terms of the quality of his at-bats. 
Last season, the Blue Jays were as successful as they were because they had long at-bats by fouling off pitches, working the starter’s pitch count and trying to knock him out of the game early, and I’d go as far as to say his plate appearances have been very 2025 Blue Jays-esque.
Take for example, his double off Paul Skenes on Saturday. He took the first two pitches well outside the zone to get ahead 2-0. Piñango fouled off the third pitch, then took the fourth pitch for a 3-1 count.  The outfielder took a shot for a home run on a pitch on the outside black, coming up empty, but fouled off the first pitch of the 3-2 count. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Piñango lofted a ball to right field for his fourth double of the season.
This was a classic 2025 Blue Jays plate appearance, and it came against the best pitcher in baseball.
It’s also important to remember that a big reason for the Blue Jays’ success last season was adding younger players like Addison Barger, Braydon Fisher, and Mason Fluharty on their roster. Piñango has shown that he can hit big league pitching, at least so far in his short big league career.
Yes, the returning Nathan Lukes is a left-handed batting outfielder, and so is Addison Barger. But at a certain point, there are less-deserving players to be on this roster, even if those hitters bat right handed.
At this point, Piñango should have to play himself off the roster thanks to a strong performance since joining the Blue Jays.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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