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By Shaun McAvoy
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the most active teams this offseason, reloading their roster after falling short to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Toronto pulled off multiple big moves this offseason and has continued making moves as spring training begins, trading the Houston Astros Joey Loperfido in exchange for 28-year-old outfielder Jesús Sánchez. Sánchez joins an already crowded Blue Jays outfield and is owed $6.8 million in 2026 with one more year of arbitration eligibility after that.
Trading for Sánchez further complicates how Toronto will deal with playing time in the outfield. One player whose playing time will be directly impacted by the addition of Sánchez is three-year veteran Nathan Lukes.
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"Lukes will be directly impacted by the Sánchez addition because there’s a certain level of overlap between the two," MLB.com's Keegan Matheson wrote Friday. "Lukes has been rock solid for the Blue Jays and really got his opportunity to shine throughout the 2025 run, but as the club chases more platoon matchups, he’ll be on the daily bubble for playing time.
"Schneider found some time to meet with Lukes individually on Friday. He’s a manager’s dream, always ready and always steady, so Schneider reassured him that he was still a big part of the Blue Jays’ plans. Later that morning, general manager Ross Atkins echoed that."
Lukes appeared in 135 games for Toronto last season after limited action in the two years before, slashing .255/.323/.407 with 12 home runs and 65 RBIs. Though the 31-year-old stepped up for the Blue Jays last season, it's likely the team will switch things up in the outfield on a game-to-game basis for better matchups.
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