Nathan Lukes gives everything he has to try to salvage Blue Jays’ season

The Blue Jays moved Nathan Lukes’s dressing stall from near the back of the room to the front on Monday, right beside George Springer’s.

“George needs a friend,” Lukes quipped a few hours before the first of four games against the Boston Red Sox, to begin the week.

Daulton Varsho, traded to Houston a week ago, had been Springer’s next-door neighbour inside Rogers Centre for the previous few years.

The move to Springer’s left was a coincidence with Toronto welcoming so many new additions, but it might as well have been a promotion for a job well done.

Monday Morning Halfback: Jays, FIFA and sports villains highlight a down-time in the sports calendar

On Friday the Blue Jays outfielder had a 15-pitch at-bat against Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler that concluded with a line-drive single to right field.

On Saturday Lukes made a spectacular diving catch and smacked a decisive two-run home run in the 11th inning. On Sunday he unleashed a 93-mile-an-hour throw from right in the bottom of the 11th to catch pinch-runner Garrett Stubbs at home plate.

That’s in the same neighbourhood as a Max Scherzer fastball.

Lukes initially took a step back on the fly ball by Luis Arráez. He had to make a fast adjustment and because of that he didn’t have the forward momentum he would normally have as he uncorked the throw that will be seen on highlight reels among the best defensive plays in the major leagues.

“As an outfielder I could have done a better job on that play,” Lukes said. “It still worked out, but if it hadn’t, I would have been mad at myself. I gave it everything I had in the moment.”

That fairly well describes Lukes’s career. He spent nine years in the minors before he reached the bigs with Toronto in 2023. There were a lot of long bus rides when he played for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the Lake County Captains, the Lynchburg Hillcats and the Montgomery Biscuits, among others.

The most he ever earned in a minor league season was US$15,000. His wife, Taylor, worked to help finance his baseball dreams.

Drafted in the seventh round out of Sacramento State in 2015 by the Cleveland Guardians, he made his debut in the majors at 28. He never gave up, although he recalls that he was getting close.

“He has shown a lot of perseverance,” manager John Schneider said. “Nothing has ever been handed to him. Guys respect another player like that.

“There are no guarantees. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He knows he is a big leaguer, not a minor leaguer anymore.”

Cathal Kelly: With the power of friendship sapped from the Blue Jays, Ross Atkins got busy at the trade deadline

Lukes got off to a slow start during the 2026 campaign when he battled vertigo. It’s hard enough to hit without one’s head spinning. He also missed almost a month with a strained left hamstring.

Nevertheless he entered Monday with a .270 average and six home runs. He has thrown out a team-leading six runners, the fourth-most among American League outfielders.

On Monday he was patrolling right field against the Red Sox.

“When you are an outfielder, one of the best things you can do is throwing a runner out on base, other than robbing someone of a home run,” Lukes said. “It wasn’t the hardest throw I’ve ever made. I still have some in the tank.”

He batted lead-off against the Red Sox in a lineup that was missing Kazuma Okamoto, who has a sore left knee after fouling a pitch off it on Sunday.

To fill in for Okamoto at third base the Blue Jays called up Charles McAdoo on Monday. In other news, pitcher Trey Yesavage had an appointment to see a doctor to determine if knee surgery is needed. Newly acquired pitcher Spencer Arrighetti has been diagnosed with Morton’s neuroma, a painful nerve condition in one’s feet.

Lukes is healthy now and the club played better on its seven-game road trip that concluded on Sunday. Toronto entered Monday’s clash last in the AL East and 3.5 games behind in the wild-card playoff race.

“I feel we are that point in the season where we have to say F-it and go as hard as we can,” Lukes said. “We only have something to gain from where we are.”