Season That Was: Nathan Lukes

In 2025, it looked like Nathan Lukes had finally broken through to become a regular outfielder. He played 135 games in 2025, after having played 51 MLB games in the previous two seasons. It wasn’t an All-Star type season, but a pretty reasonable first full-timer season.

Then, before this past season, the Jays traded for Jesús Sánchez. I was a little less than thrilled, thinking that Lukes would be losing playing time:

He (Lukes) had his first full season in the majors last year, playing in 135 games, hitting .255/.323/.407 with 12 home runs, and a 2.0 bWAR. He has an option year left, which, a week ago, I would have thought was a non-issue, but then the team traded for Jesús Sánchez. Now?