Blue Jays announce pair of roster moves ahead of Twins weekend series

Prior to Friday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, the Toronto Blue Jays had announced a pair of roster moves in preparation for the weekend series. The Blue Jays have optioned Steward Berroa to their Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons. In a corresponding move, outfielder Nathan Lukes has been recalled from Buffalo to take Berroa’s spot on the big league roster.

Berroa made his MLB debut with the Jays earlier this season when his contract was selected and added to the major league roster towards the end of June. He served primarily as a bench player and defensive replacement during his time with the big league club. In 24 games of action, Berroa batted .152 with a .499 OPS, along with 7 runs scored, 1 double, 1 RBI, 5 stolen bases, 8 walks and 13 strikeouts in 41 plate appearances. It was in the field where he shined the most while taking reps in all three outfield positions. Berroa posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage along with registering 2 DRS and one outfield assist over 97 innings.

For Lukes, he has finally got his chance to return to the majors after spending the entire 2024 season thus far with the Bisons. In 54 games with Buffalo, Lukes compiled a stellar .333 batting average, 871 OPS, along with 30 runs scored, 7 doubles, 7 home runs, 31 RBI and 4 stolen bases. His strong minor league season was interrupted back in June when he suffered a thumb injury. Lukes ended up missing almost two months as he had to undergo surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. He has since returned to action earlier this August and has continued his hitting ways, sporting a .340 average and .797 OPS for the month.

With the Jays likely wanting to have some looks with what they have in their farm system, Berroa became the unfortunate roster casualty. As for Lukes, he never really got a fair chance to play during his several stints with the Jays last season. Hopefully this time around, he will get a longer runway to show off his talents in the final month of the 2024 season.