June 11: The Jays will place Lukes on the 7-day concussion list as the corresponding move to bring Robertson to the majors, manager John Schneider announced today (via MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson).
June 10: The Blue Jays are promoting outfielder Will Robertson to the majors, according to a report from Trevor Hahn of News Tribune Sports. Toronto has space on their 40-man roster, so the only corresponding move needed to bring Robertson into the fold will be one to clear room on the active roster.
Robertson, 27, was Toronto’s fourth-round pick back in 2019. After getting a taste of pro ball in Low-A during his draft year, Robertson’s career was delayed slightly by the canceled minor league season in 2020 and when he returned in 2021 he struggled somewhat across 56 games at the High-A level with a wRC+ of just 94 as he hit .235/.310/.385. He once again put up relatively middling numbers the following year, this time slashing .215/.291/.401 (89 wRC+) across 90 games in his first taste of the Double-A level. Overall, Robertson’s approach came with a hefty dose of strikeouts and somewhat limited power that made it difficult for him to put up even average results early in his professional career.
Things began to change during a repeat of the Double-A level in 2023, however. That year, Robertson hit .245/.323/.488 with a wRC+ of 118. He pushed his walk rate up to 9.7%, the best it had been since his draft year, cut his strikeout rate by two points, and slugged 19 homers in 103 games. That sort of strong performance is to be expected of a 25-year-old making his second trip through Double-A, but it was still enough to get him promoted to Triple-A Buffalo for the first time in his career. While Robertson’s increased walk rate and power remained from the year prior, his strikeout rate jumped to 31.3% in 2024 as he struggled against Triple-A pitching an ultimately slashed just .226/.319/.429 with a wRC+ of 95.
Robertson’s 2024 performance may have seemed to indicate he didn’t have much of path to the big leagues, but he’s changed that narrative with a brilliant season in 2025 so far. In 51 games for the club’s Buffalo affiliate, Robertson has crushed the ball to the tune of a .288/.410/.582 slash line. He has 12 home runs in just 188 plate appearances, he’s walking a whopping 17.0% of the time, and he’s striking out less than he has since 2019 with a 23.9% clip. Taken together, it leaves him with a 159 wRC+ that’s good for fourth in the International League this year. Robertson isn’t considered much of a prospect, as he isn’t even ranked on MLB.com’s Top 30 Blue Jays prospects list. Regardless of a player’s prospect status, however, Robertson’s numbers are the type that will get you attention from the big league club.
That’s especially true for a Blue Jays club that is running a bit thin on outfield depth after losing both Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho to the injured list. Alan Roden, Myles Straw, Jonatan Clase, Addison Barger, and Nathan Lukes have been mixing and matching in the outfield for the Jays in recent weeks alongside veteran right fielder George Springer, and Ben Nicholson Smith of Sportsnet was among those to relay this afternoon that Lukes had been scratched from today’s lineup due to neck discomfort. Perhaps Robertson’s call-up is a sign that Lukes’ neck issue is serious enough to require a stint on the injured list, though it’s also possible Robertson’s phenomenal play to this point in the year has simply forced the issue in the eyes of Blue Jays brass.
So close to danger.
beat me to it. danger will robertson!
“The SOB stole my line!”
Weird they have the third best record in the American league, I’m guessing you don’t watch baseball.
Or more accurately; the Blue Jays the last two and a half weeks. Right before the Pads sweep.
Spaced: The Blue Jays WHAT the last two and a half weeks?
Looks like you SPACED on the verb. How appropriate. 🤣
I’m sorry that you don’t understand context. We can get someone to walk you through those scary sentences.
balderdash: You know, it’s kind of hilarious watching you try to fit your entire vocabulary into one sentence. 🤣
ah yes. I made a mental leap without providing the work or context ;D
Gomer was inferring that Reynaldo isn’t watching baseball and I was just clarifying that he meant the white hot Blue Jays the past three weeks.
I do often space out and appreciate any friends pointing out my mistakes 🙂
Baron is a lost cause. Can’t help him.
They’ve had no trouble lighting up the Cardinals. Will Robertson is fortunate to be getting called up before the series is over. He can start his big league tenure with a bang beating up on a fading Cardinals staff.
Danger Will Robertson. Danger
They’re middle of the pack or better in virtually every offensive category, and recently they’ve been winning a lot of games. I agree with gomer’s assessment.
Duck Commander has made it to the show.
Toronto playing well so far for wide open AL wildcard is taking Gausman and Bassitt out of the trade deadline SP options. Good for them.
@cwsOverhaul
They’ve got a much easier SOS for the remainder of the season so I could see them making it into a WC spot. They just can’t drop the ball on those easy games.
Uh huh. Best team in baseball last thirty days
Boy’s manufacturing far too many runs in Triple-A. The market won’t sustain the supply and the price for runs will decline. Good idea by the Jays to remove him from Triple-A before the price side collapses.
Schneider continues to be a waste of a roster spot. Get him out of there! Barger should never be in the outfield…..he’s your third baseman so leave him there. Plenty of “real” outfielders available without pretenders like Schneider and Barger going out there.
With that, surprised they are going with Robertson at this point. Why waste an option and start his service time clock? Loperfido is having a solid year, so if you need an outfielder, why not him?
@Deckard
His wRC+ is sitting at 121. 21% better than league average. Are you seriously removing a guy from a roster spot creating runs?
This is more about Ernie Clement than it is Schneider. Ernie is pacing the team in WAR because of his defensive prowess. Barger has come up with timely hitting so the idea is to get them both in the lineup. Unfortunately someone has to lose playing time and calling up Loperfido when he needs more seasoning would be a total misstep, and could harm his development with a lack of playing time.
@Deckard
Sometimes a player just forces your hand. And the underlying numbers don’t support a Loperfido promotion at all:
Loperfido:
.403 xSLG
35.6% Hard Hit rate
3.1% Barrel rate
88.2 mph avg EV
17.1 SwStr%
Robertson:
.539 xSLG
53.6% HH
9.5% Barrel
93.6 mph avg EV
12.1 SwStr%
Plus Robertson is deserving of a call up as shown by the numbers Rollie has blessed us with.
Have you been watching them lately? Look it up…
Will Robertson:
Don’t go to Dr. Zachary Smith for ANY ADVICE.
Medical or Otherwise.
IGNORE Anything He Says
Maybe this will get Roden more PA’s.
It almost seems as though there’s a Moneyball style rift between the manager and the general manager. Atkins wants Roden in the majors but Schneider refuses to play him. It’s weird.
Also, who else saw the concussion IL coming for Lukes. The Jays manager seems to have some sort of perverse aversion to removing any players from the game, no matter how clearly they’ve been hurt. He’s using the tests as a scapegoat. ‘He passed the tests so I don’t have to pull him’, except the manager is allowed to use his own judgment and can pull a player at any time for his own good.
Both Lukes and Heineman looked pretty clearly concussed in game, were given the all clear, and then a day or two later ended up on the concussion IL.
Roden should be playing every day in AAA. Or Clase. Pick one to stay in the majors and the other in AAA.
@Canuckleball
Just a few things.
Schneider doesn’t have final say in the lineup. That falls on the FO. Schneider has input of course but the final decision isn’t his.
The concussion protocol isn’t in the purview of Schneider or the FO. The trainer implements the base test and if the player fails it, they are removed from the game and subject to further medical tests.
On a side, I would deal for Civale. Could he be worse than Bowden?
Robertson has come on strong as of late in AAA. Jays could really use a SP and RP as the bullpen is running on fumes as of late. Atkins would be wise to get in-front of the trade deadline early.
@its_happening
Auditioning them as trade bait for a middle innings reliever with options? It’s not as though the Jays are hurting for AAA/AAAA depth OF’s.
Basically. Nimmala, Yesavage, Tiedemann, maybe Stephens are not to be touched. Everyone else is fair game in-terms of minor leaguers and the guys being called up as of late.
Offseason, Jays need to deal Varsho and save some cash for a big bat. Bo is gone, play Clase/Lukes/Straw in CF and put some depth in the order. Open more cash to also address the pitching.
Lol those are the only guys any team would want
If you’re trading for controllable players with low salary, yes.
You takes are comically bad and completely wrong.