How Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes earned his team's trust and finally carved a major-league role

Hamilton Spectator

24-05-2025

In a league filled with fiery sluggers, big-name international free agents and hotshot upstarts, there are always names that fall under the radar.
For the
Blue Jays
, outfielder Nathan Lukes, who has had a decidedly unglamorous road to the majors, falls into that category.
The 30-year-old Lukes has long waited for the opportunity to play consistently at the big-league level. He appeared in more than 600 minor-league games between 2015 and 2022 before finally making his MLB debut at age 28 in 2023.
Nathan Lukes is rewarded with the Gatorade shower after his walk-off hit.
Now, he's a regular fixture in the starting lineup — and he's been making an impact.
Lukes hit a walk-off single to beat the San Diego Padres
on Thursday in a game where he went 3-for-4 and improved his on-base-plus-slugging percentage to .808 on the year. A day earlier, he hit a key two-run homer, his fourth of the season.
In manager John Schneider's telling, Lukes is hitting his stride, showing more intent with his swings and making his at-bats more efficient and impactful. He doesn't strike out all that often, squares up balls at a respectable rate and has an above-average arm in the outfield,
per Baseball Savant
.
'I think that he's coming into his own as a player,' Schneider said. 'I'm happy for him. He's worked really hard to get to this point and it's paying off.'
Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes makes a catch against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
Even when he reached the higher levels of minor-league ball and an MLB role felt closer, the native of Sacramento, Calif. battled injuries.
He suffered a gruesome thumb injury in 2024
that kept him out for two months while in Buffalo, and spent a pair of shorter stints on the injured list in both the Blue Jays and Rays organizations.
'His career has been weird, and injuries have been a big part of it,' Schneider observed. 'I think Nate's just in a good spot and understanding what he's good at.'
Now, his manager says, he's healthy and confident, which has given the Jays a lot of trust in him.
They even had him lay down a bunt with two strikes against a left-handed pitcher in the seventh inning of Wednesday night's game, a gambit that ultimately paid off and ignited
what would become a five-run bat-around inning
.
'I trust Nate to be a baseball player,' Schneider said. 'It's not easy to bunt left-on-left like that, and he put down a perfect one. It's a credit to him, and I got a lot of trust in him.'
Varsho triples in the 11th inning to bring home one run, then scores the winning run as the Jays move above .500.
Varsho triples in the 11th inning to bring home one run, then scores the winning run as the Jays move above .500.
Lukes echoed the importance of confidence, which has helped him get off to a solid start to the season in which he's driven in 16 runs in fewer than 100 plate appearances.
'The confidence is a big thing in baseball and right now; I'm just running with it,' Lukes said. 'I like to shoot for the moon, so hopefully (I can) just get (the ball) up even more.'
His teammates have taken notice, too.
Myles Straw, the gold glover who has shared outfield duties with Lukes since coming over from the Cleveland Guardians in the winter, said his strength as a hitter is his ability to hit line drives to all parts of the field.
'He's just very consistent — consistent in the field, consistent hitting,' Straw said. 'At the end of the day, he can hit a line drive to right, left or centre. So when you show signs of that, you can be a pretty good hitter.'
'If I was making the lineup, I'd have him in there every day,' said infielder Ernie Clement, who was standing on first base when Lukes hit a towering
home run Wednesday night. 'It's just really, really impressive to see him put up the at-bats that he has when not playing every day.'
Lukes has already suited up in a career-high 35 MLB games this season, but playing time is no guarantee with fellow outfielders
Alan Roden
, Jonatan Clase and
Davis Schneider
all in the system.
For now, he's taking every opportunity in, and says it makes all those years spent in the minor leagues worth it for the chance to play at the highest level.
'Right now, I feel like it's all paying off,' Lukes said.