4 Blue Jays players who won’t be on the roster by July 1st

Nathan Lukes

It may be a bit unfair to put Nathan Lukes into this category, after all, has he really gotten enough time to show what he could do and bring to the ballclub? However, sometimes that’s life being the 26th man on the roster. Despite making the team’s Opening Day roster, Lukes hasn’t really received a lot of playing time in total. For the season, he has gotten into 22 games for the Jays, but with most of them being pinch running and defensive replacement duties. Overall, he is hitting .158, with an OPS of .491, with four runs scored, one triple, one RBI, two walks and seven strikeouts in 22 plate appearances. At least he has been decent in the field, with no errors committed and one outfield assist over 36.2 innings played.

However, it is still hard to judge on whether Lukes can have an impact on the ballclub in the long run based on Jays’ manager John Schneider’s usage of him. But with the trade deadline quickly approaching in just a little over a month and a half’s time, the Jays are definitely looking to upgrade their roster. In particular, they will most likely be seeking a power bat that could strengthen the bench, one that could be used in pinch-hitting situations late in games, along with getting spot starts in the field when needed. When that time comes to add such a player, which could be pretty soon, given the Jays on and off struggles with offence the past month, look for Lukes to be the one losing his spot on the roster as a result of it.