The Blue Jays have added another arm to the mix, landing 27-year-old José Soriano from the Angels.
Soriano brings a strong season line with him: a 3.29 ERA in 22 starts, a 2.7 bWAR, and opponents hitting .217/.311/.321 against him. He’s been piling up punchouts, too, with 127 strikeouts in 123 innings, even as his ground-ball style comes with a league-leading 57 walks.
The best part for Toronto is the control. Soriano is under team control through the 2028 season.
That gives the Jays another high-end starter to pair with Dylan Cease and Trey Yesavage for at least the next couple of years.
The price was significant. Heading to the Angels are Arjun Nimmala, Eddie Micheletti Jr., and Angel Rivero.
Nimmala had been a name the Jays had talked up over the past couple of seasons, and a Sportsnet profile even followed him on a trip to India. He entered the season as the No. 2 prospect on the list and had been performing well as a 20-year-old in New Hampshire, batting .279/.355/.451 after a rough second half of the 2025 season. The deal could be a sign Toronto is especially high on Jo Jo Parker, or it could simply mean Nimmala was the piece needed to make Soriano happen.
Micheletti, an outfielder, was hitting .251/.347/.454 at age 24 in New Hampshire.
Rivero, 19, has put together a 2.36 ERA in the Florida Coast League, along with 52 strikeouts and 23 walks in 42 innings.
So the Jays sold off a starter one day and bought one the next. This one just came with a lot more years attached.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Add Former Silver Slugger With Something To Prove
The Blue Jays added a familiar type of buy-low piece in Josh Smith, a 2024 Silver Slugger winner whose bat has already shown plenty of ceiling. Texas sent Smith and minor-league pitcher Josh Stephan to Toronto in exchange for left-hander Adam Macko, giving the Jays another infielder with major-league credentials while parting with a young arm who has already reached the big leagues this year and is now back in Triple-A.
For Toronto, the move is as much about opportunity as it is about performance. Smith has been limited by injuries this season and is also in Triple-A, which leaves the Blue Jays with a player who has something to prove and a track record that suggests there could still be more there. The question now is whether Toronto can help unlock the version of Smith that made him an award winner not so long ago. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Suddenly Face An Emotional Reunion Game At Wrigley
A makeup game at Wrigley Field has taken on a different feel for the Blue Jays, not just because it fills a gap in the schedule, but because it comes against a Cubs club that now looks a lot more familiar than it did a few weeks ago. Toronto and Chicago recently swapped pitchers, and Thursdays postponed-series finale is set up to feature two arms each side knows well, with the kind of backdrop that can make an ordinary midweek game feel a little heavier.
The Blue Jays are expected to send Jameson Taillon to the mound, while Kevin Gausman is lined up for the Cubs, turning the first meeting after the trade into something more than a simple resumption of a rainout. Both pitchers have had challenging seasons, which only adds to the intrigue, because the game carries plenty of emotional weight even before the first pitch is thrown. [Read more 🡒]
Former Phillies Bullpen Weapon Just Raised The Stakes For Reliever Trades
A familiar name just changed the bullpen market again. The Twins moved to acquire reliever Hoffman in a deal that positions him as their likely primary closer, and for Toronto it is another reminder of how quickly the late-inning trade lane can shift once a contender decides it wants help at the back end. Hoffman has already spent time with both the Phillies and Blue Jays, and his profile still carries the traits that make relievers so enticing in July and beyond, especially the strikeout ability that has remained a calling card.
There is also enough volatility in his recent performance to keep the conversation interesting. Hoffman has had some trouble with home runs and batting average on balls in play, which is part of why relievers like him can swing from trade chip to leverage arm so fast. For the Blue Jays, the move reads like one more data point in a market where the cost of proven bullpen help keeps climbing, and where every contender watching the prices has to decide how far it is willing to go. [Read more 🡒]