{"id":299631,"date":"2025-11-22T12:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/299631\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T12:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:44:09","slug":"blue-jays-could-consider-trading-away-fan-favorite-young-outfielder-in-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/299631\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Could Consider Trading Away Fan Favorite Young Outfielder in Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6r\">The Toronto Blue Jays are fresh off a run to Game 7 of the World Series and one in which they came within two outs of their first championship in over three decades.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6u\">While the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/blue-jays-star-closer-jeff-hoffman-issues-soul-crushing-quote-on-game-7-loss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wound is still fresh<\/a>, decision makers within the organization need to turn the page and figure out how to put the team in the best possible spot to get right back to the same spot and finish the job next year.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6x\">It&#8217;s a tough spot for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/ross-atkins-gives-hint-about-what-position-blue-jays-will-target-this-offseason\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">general manager Ross Atkins<\/a>, and one to which he will have to make some calls that may not be all that popular. Trades are a reality, and if rumors were to come true and Toronto ends up landing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/blue-jays-shockingly-named-favorite-land-top-free-agent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">someone like Kyle Tucker<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/blue-jays-involved-heated-race-rivals-free-agent-backup-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">even Cody Bellinger<\/a>, the outfield would be crowded.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"70\">There&#8217;s not enough spots to go around, so could Atkins look to move off a valuable young fan favorite while his name is hot this winter?<\/p>\n<p>Blue Jays Could Have Reason to Trade Away Nathan Lukes This Winter<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/01kakx3y7s7dtenedgeb.jpg\" alt=\"Nathan Lukes of Toronto Blue Jays in t-shirt before game\" title=\"Nathan Lukes of Toronto Blue Jays in t-shirt before game\" width=\"5387\" height=\"3030\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7c\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Oct 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes (38) warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the 2025 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7g\">For as much as it would sting, Toronto would have to open up a spot for Tucker or Bellinger, and coming off an extremely impressive first full season, Nathan Lukes could make the most sense to deal away.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7j\">Still just 31 years old and not even arbitration eligible, Lukes is a late bloomer but seems to be a serious everyday player, and given his contract controllability, any team in need of help in the outfield would be interested.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7m\">The Blue Jays got to the point they did partially on the performance of Lukes both during the regular season and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/nathan-lukes-immediate-impact-allows-blue-jays-overcome-slow-start-game-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">during the playoffs<\/a>, but the simple fact is there is not room for everyone, and if Toronto is serious about big game hunting, a spot would have to be opened.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7p\">Dealing Lukes away for some serious pitching depth could prove to be the best case for all involved.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Jays Would Be Making Massive Upgrade from Lukes with Tucker<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/01kaky2p057x0veknf6v.jpg\" alt=\"Nathan Lukes of Toronto Blue Jays high fives teammates\" title=\"Nathan Lukes of Toronto Blue Jays high fives teammates\" width=\"5297\" height=\"2979\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"81\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Oct 13, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes (38) celebrates in the dugout after scoring against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning during game two of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre.  | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"85\">Lukes had a wonderful first season with a slash line of .255\/.323\/.407 and a 2.0 bWAR in just 135 games. While these are formidable numbers which helped out Toronto tremendously, both Tucker and Bellinger are the kind of perennial All-Stars who could take this lineup to the next level.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"88\">In terms of the outfield, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/blue-jays-outfielder-crucial-to-future-success-despite-missing-half-of-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Daulton Varsho is locked in<\/a> at center, and Tucker would fill a corner spot with an elite glove of his own. That leaves just one spot for some sort of combination of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/addison-barger-slept-teammates-couch-before-becoming-blue-jays-game-1-hero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Addison Barger<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/blue-jays-get-boost-george-springer-returns-game-6-world-series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">George Springer<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/analyst-expects-blue-jays-outfielder-have-massive-bounce-back-season-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Anthony Santander<\/a> depending on the day.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8b\">The ugly truth is the Blue Jays may already have too many outfielders as is, and if they&#8217;re determined to bring in a star, they simply are going to have to make a move.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8e\">It remains to be seen if that move could be shipping Lukes out of town, but it would make a whole lot of sense for him to wind up being the odd man out in a group that is deep as any other team in baseball.<\/p>\n<p>More Blue Jays News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Blue Jays are fresh off a run to Game 7 of the World Series and one&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-299631","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}