The Blue Jays activated Lukes (concussion) from the 7-day injured list Friday.
Lukes exited the Blue Jays' win over the Cardinals on June 9 with the injury. With Anthony Santander (shoulder) and Daulton Varsho (hamstring) still out for Toronto, Lukes will vie for playing time in the outfield alongside Addison Barger and George Springer. Lukes is slashing .267/.360/.392 with four home runs, 21 RBI, 19 runs scored and one stolen base across 143 plate appearances this season.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Set for rehab assignment
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Lukes (concussion) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Lukes landed on the 7-day injured list last week, but his concussion symptoms appear to have dissipated. He's slated to play at least a couple games with Buffalo, but a return from the IL for the Blue Jays' series this weekend against the White Sox is possible.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Placed on concussion IL
Rotowire
The Blue Jays placed Lukes on the 7-day injured list Wednesday due to a concussion.
Lukes was a late scratch from the lineup ahead of Tuesday's win over the Cardinals with what was described as neck discomfort at the time, but subsequent testing has determined that he is dealing with a concussion. He'll be eligible for activation June 17, but as is the case with all players recovering from concussions, the return timeline can be volatile.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Remains on bench Wednesday
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Lukes (neck) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
Lukes was scratched from the starting nine ahead of Tuesday's 10-9 win due to neck discomfort, and he'll remain on the bench for the series finale. The Blue Jays haven't indicated whether the left-handed-hitting Lukes' absence has more to do with the neck injury, or because the Cardinals are sending a left-hander (Matthew Liberatore) to the hill. Regardless, Toronto will roll out an outfield of Jonatan Clase, Myles Straw and George Springer from left to right Wednesday.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Scratched with neck injury
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Lukes was scratched from the lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Cardinals due to neck discomfort.
The severity of Lukes' injury remains unknown, though it will force him out of at least Tuesday's game. While he sits, Jonatan Clase, Myles Straw and Alan Roden will start across Toronto's outfield.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Lukes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.
Though he'll hit the bench against southpaw JP Sears, Lukes should continue to have a clear path to playing time after Daulton Varsho (hamstring) joined Anthony Santander (shoulder) on the injured list Sunday. Lukes has been seeing most of his playing time in the outfield corners of late, but manager John Schneider suggested that he could end up filling the strong side of a platoon in center field with Myles Straw while Varsho is on the shelf, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Swipes first bag
Rotowire
Lukes went 2-for-3 with a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Rangers.
The steal was his first of the season, on his third attempt. Lukes is slashing .293/.397/.466 through 22 games in May with three homers, 10 runs and 11 RBI as he establishes himself as the Blue Jays' regular starter in left field.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Absent from starting lineup
Rotowire
Lukes is not in the Blue Jays' starting lineup against the Rangers on Tuesday.
Lukes will begin Tuesday's contest in the dugout while George Springer, Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander start in the outfield for the Blue Jays. Lukes has slashed .273/.385/.455 with three home runs and nine RBI in 67 plate appearances since the beginning of May.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Plays hero with walk-off hit
Rotowire
Lukes went 1-for-4 with two walks, a run scored and an RBI in Thursday's extra-innings win over the Padres.
The 30-year-old outfielder walked it off in the bottom of the 11th inning with an RBI single through a drawn-in infield. The Blue Jays have gotten little from Anthony Santander (hip) so far this season, but Lukes has filled in admirably of late, slashing .263/.364/.500 over his last 12 games with three homers, seven RBI, eight runs and a 6:5 BB:K.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Smacks late homer
Rotowire
Lukes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Thursday's 8-3 loss to the Rays.
Lukes went yard in the eighth inning, but the Blue Jays weren't able to make a comeback push out of it. He has been steady at the plate in May, going 10-for-30 with two homers and eight RBI over 11 contests this month. Lukes is up to a .273/.372/.439 slash line with three homers, 13 RBI, 14 runs scored and no stolen bases over 79 plate appearances. He doesn't have a defined position but has managed to sustain decent playing time as a fourth outfielder. Lukes has primarily been in competition with Jonatan Clase and Myles Straw over the last week.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Sitting after five straight starts
Rotowire
Lukes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Lukes will hit the bench after he had picked up starts in the corner outfield in each of the Blue Jays' previous five games while going 5-for-18 with a home run and two walks. He'll be replaced in left field by Jonatan Clase, but Lukes may have the upper hand on a regular lineup spot until Andres Gimenez's (quadricep) eventual return from the injured list takes an everyday role off the table.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Gaining traction in lineup
Rotowire
Lukes will start in right field and bat sixth in Sunday's game against the Mariners.
Lukes will pick up his fourth straight start in the outfield and seems to be the primary beneficiary of second baseman Andres Gimenez's (quadriceps) recent move to the injured list. Since Gimenez landed on the IL, Ernie Clement has taken over as the Blue Jays' primary second baseman, and Addison Barger has moved to third base to open up a spot in the outfield for Lukes.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Clubs homer in win
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Lukes went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 6-3 win over the Mariners.
Lukes is 6-for-18 (.333) with six RBI and two extra-base hits over seven games in May. The outfielder is sporting a .259/.359/.407 slash line with two homers, 11 RBI, 11 runs scored, two doubles and no stolen bases over 65 plate appearances. He has primarily served in a strong-side platoon role, functioning as a fourth outfielder whenever one of Toronto's regulars needs to get some rest from defensive duties.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Knocks in go-ahead run
Rotowire
Lukes went 1-for-2 with a two-run single in Friday's 5-3 win over the Guardians.
Lukes pinch hit for Myles Straw in the sixth inning and struck out, but the former bounced back in the eighth, when he smacked a two-run single to right field to give the Blue Jays a two-run lead. With Daulton Varsho back from the injured list, Lukes is competing with Straw, Alan Roden and Addison Barger for reps in the outfield. Lukes has gone 7-for-17 with one home run and four RBI over his last six games.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Connects for first homer in loss
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Lukes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to Houston.
It was the first homer of the campaign by Lukes, who took Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco deep in the third inning. While Lukes does have four walks through his first 37 plate appearances of the year, he's batting just .200 with one double, five RBI and seven runs scored in 15 games. With Daulton Varsho (shoulder) nearing a return to Toronto's outfield, it's quite possible Lukes will be the odd man out when a corresponding move needs to be made in order to activate the former from the injured list.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Placed on paternity list
Rotowire
The Blue Jays placed Lukes on the paternity list Tuesday.
Lukes figures to miss at least a couple of days while he awaits the birth of his child. In a corresponding move, the Blue Jays recalled Addison Barger from Triple-A Buffalo. The lefty-hitting Lukes is slashing .167/.310/.208 with one extra-base hit, three RBI, six runs and a 4:4 BB:K across 29 plate appearances this season.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Out of Friday's lineup
Rotowire
Luke is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rays.
Lukes started six of the previous seven games and will take seat Friday after posting a .231/.276/.385 slash line during that span. Jonatan Clase is starting in center field against Tampa Bay lefty Tyler Alexander.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Starting again Sunday
Rotowire
Lukes is starting in center field and batting in the leadoff spot for Sunday's series finale against the Cardinals.
Lukes will start in the outfield for a fourth straight game Sunday, and the 30-year-old has been seeing more playing time while Daulton Varsho has been sidelined due to a sore shoulder. He's gone 3-for-10 with one triple and three runs scored over the first two games of the series against St. Louis. In 10 major-league appearances this season, Lukes is slashing .342/.395/.474 with four RBI across 43 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: On base three times Sunday
Rotowire
Lukes went 0-for-2 with three walks and a run scored in Sunday's loss to the Twins.
After batting eighth in his first two games of the season following his promotion Friday, Lukes got bumped up to the leadoff spot and showed a keen eye. The 30-year-old appears to be receiving a real look from the Jays and has responded by getting on base eight times in his first 14 plate appearances while seeing action in both outfield corners, but given his age, the rebuilding team may not have a lot of incentive to play Lukes over younger options like Joey Loperfido or Addison Barger down the stretch.
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Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes: Tallies four hits Saturday
Rotowire
Lukes went 4-for-6 with a double, two runs and two RBI in a 15-0 rout of the Twins on Saturday.
Lukes was one of four Blue Jays with at least three hits in the offensive outburst, and he was part of a massive 11-for-16, seven-RBI performance by the bottom third of Toronto's order. This was just the second major-league game of the season for the 30-year-old, who was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday. Lukes earned the promotion by slashing .333/.403/.469 with seven home runs, 31 RBI and four steals over 54 games with Buffalo.
