Toronto Blue Jays Call Up Prospect Yohendrick Pinango Amid Offensive Struggles and Injuries

The Toronto Blue Jays called up outfielder Yohendrick Pinango from Triple-A Buffalo on April 25, 2026, as the team seeks to bolster its struggling offense. Pinango, driving 98 miles from Buffalo to Toronto, is set to join the major league roster immediately.

Forbes reported that this move addresses the Blue Jays' position in the bottom half of most offensive categories in the 2026 season, with the team holding a 10-15 record.

Pinango, a 23-year-old Venezuelan prospect, stands at 5 feet 10 inches and weighs 170 pounds. He is about to become the first player in Major League Baseball history with either that unusual first name or last. Ranked as the Blue Jays’ No. com and No.

288 with 3 home runs and 13 RBI in 22 games for the Buffalo Bisons this season. In his last five games for Buffalo, Pinango hit safely each time. He delivered a two-run double against the Columbus Clippers on Thursday night, April 23, 2026, and an RBI double off Will Dion on Friday night, April 24, 2026.

On Wednesday night, April 22, 2026, Pinango hit a ball into the right-center gap off Colin Holderman, though a diving catch turned it into a sacrifice fly. Pinango produces exit velocities over 100 mph on line drives. The Blue Jays, defending American League champions, are next-to-last in the American League in home runs with 21 this season.

Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is batting .323. The call-up follows outfielder Nathan Lukes straining his left hamstring on Friday night, April 24, 2026, during an 8-6 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.

Lukes, hitting .250 without a home run this season, went 11-for-21 after opening 2026 at 2-for-24. This injury brings the Blue Jays' injured list to 12 players. Outfielders George Springer and Addison Bargar, along with catcher Alejandro Kirk, are among those sidelined.

Several pitchers are also on the injured list, including Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, Jose Berrios, Yimi Garcia, Ricky Tiedemann, and Lazaro Estrada. The Blue Jays came within one sensational game-saving catch by the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of winning the World Series.

DH/outfielder Anthony Santander missed the post-season with a sore left shoulder and may miss all of 2026 after surgery this winter.

On the way to going to the World Series in 2025, the Blue Jays led the AL in hits, batting average and on-base percentage, were second in runs and RBI and third in doubles, walks and slugging percentage.

Pinango is coming off a spectacular performance for Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League. In 24 games, he hit .363 with 8 homers, 8 doubles and 31 RBI. That followed a decent 2025 split between Buffalo and Double-A New Hampshire. Overall, he hit .258 with 15 homers, 70 RBI and 6 steals without being caught in 131 games. As a professional, Pinango has succeeded on 83 of 103 stolen base attempts.

He has played 497 professional games in left field, 93 in right field, and 12 in center field. He semi-awkwardly made a highlight reel catch of a line drive during spring training. He showed his power in Florida this spring, too.

Pinango signed with the Chicago Cubs as an international free agent in 2018 at age 16 for $400,000. The Blue Jays acquired Pinango and minor-league infielder Josh Rivera in a trade for pitcher Nate Pearson on July 24, 2024.

This call-up echoes past successes, such as Davis Schneider's promotion from Buffalo in August 2023. Schneider hit .276 with 12 doubles, 8 homers and 20 RBI in 35 games. The Blue Jays went 21-14 during that stretch.