No. 10 prospect Piñango called up; Lukes (hamstring) lands on IL

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays have called up No. 10 prospect Yohendrick Piñango in place of Nathan Lukes, who was placed on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain.

Lukes left Friday’s 8-6 loss to the Guardians after injuring his hamstring running out a double and underwent an MRI late last night. It’s just another dose of bad news for a Blue Jays lineup already without George Springer, Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk.

“He’s kind of week-to-week,” said manager John Schneider. “It feels like anyone who’s playing good is not allowed to play any more.”

Piñango will get his first look at the big leagues and he could see some meaningful playing time -- even if his stay may be short -- given how these injuries have impacted the Blue Jays’ outfield. The 23-year-old was off to a great start with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, where he had batted .288 with three home runs and an .857 OPS over 22 games.

The Blue Jays actually left Piñango unprotected ahead of this offseason’s Rule 5 Draft -- which felt like a risky proposition in the moment -- but he went unselected and now jumps onto the 40-man roster regardless.

There’s plenty of raw power to Piñango’s game, which shows up in impressive exit velocities, and he’s done a better job of consistently hitting the ball in the air recently -- which was a challenge when he joined the organization from the Cubs in 2024 as part of the package for Nate Pearson.

“What stands out is bat speed,” said Schneider. “He hits the ball hard. The way the hitting guys talk about it is that he’s got some bad intentions at the plate. He’s not just trying to touch it. He was performing the best out of the group that we were talking about in Triple-A.”

Piñango will need to hit. His defensive profile is limited to the corner-outfield spots and he won’t be the fastest base runner on the roster, but the Blue Jays are believers in his offensive upside from the left side and at just 23 years old, Piñango now has his opportunity to show that he can be a long-term piece of this roster even earlier than expected. Keep in mind that Daulton Varsho and Springer are both free agents following this season, and while the Blue Jays have built impressive depth in the outfield, they’ve been waiting for someone from that group to step forward as a more permanent starting option.

Injuries have already forced the Blue Jays to lean on their Triple-A depth heavily, including fellow prospect Brandon Valenzuela (No. 24), who’s up in place of Kirk. It’s also cleared the way for Eloy Jimenez to see regular reps and created a need for the Lenyn Sosa acquisition, but the Blue Jays do have an impressive group of prospects in Triple-A beyond Piñango, which includes RJ Schreck (No. 9), Josh Kasevich (No. 13) and Charles McAdoo (No. 26).

In a corresponding move to free space on their 40-man roster, which has also been strained, the Blue Jays transferred Yimi García to the 60-day IL. This is more of a paper move for García and not indicative of any changes, as his rehab process has been moving along slowly.