The Blue Jays didn’t just make a deadline splash when they landed José Soriano. They made a bet.
Toronto sent a package of prospects headlined by No. 2 prospect Arjun Nimmala to the LA Angles for the 27-year-old right-hander, a move that landed with real force because it came after the club had already shipped Kevin Gausman to the Chicago Cubs. On the surface, that looked like a selling move. In practice, the Soriano deal said something different: the Blue Jays saw a chance they didn’t want to miss.
Arden Zwelling put it plainly on the At the Letters podcast: “I think this deal says that the Blue Jays really believe in their pitching department and their ability to help Soriano get better,” Zwelling said. “I think it says that when the Blue Jays see an opportunity like this, they are going to be aggressive in going after it and willing to take risks.”
That’s the part that makes the Nimmala return sting for some fans. But Toronto has done this before.
The club dealt Austin Martin, then one of the organization’s most recognizable prospects and a former first-round pick, to get José Berrios from the Minnesota Twins at the 2021 trade deadline. Zwelling pointed to that history as proof that the Blue Jays are “more than willing to trade first-round picks for controllable pieces.”
There’s another layer to this too. Zwelling suggested Toronto may not be looking at Soriano as a short-term rental at all.
“I think this also says the Blue Jays, and I’m going out on a limb here, they see Soriano as an extension candidate, much like they did with Berrios,” Zwelling said. “Because when they acquired him, they had it in their mind that they were going to extend him when they got him from the Twins.”
That’s not hard to understand when you look at the money. Berrios was signed after the 2021 season to a seven-year, $131 million extension.
Soriano is making $2.9 million in arbitration this season, and while his salaries should climb over the next two years, he still profiles as a pitcher whose price could stay manageable for a while. That gives Toronto and Soriano a possible middle ground: real guaranteed money before free agency, and a deal that could buy out a year or two on the open market.
Zwelling floated one possible framework: “Maybe that structure looks like a four-year extension with a club option. Maybe it includes escalators tied to workload, innings pitched, strikeouts, awards or other performance markers.” The exact shape of any future deal can’t be known yet, but the idea is clearly there.
On the mound, Soriano brings the kind of raw stuff Toronto clearly believes it can sharpen. In that sense, the comparison is less Berrios and more Dylan Cease, whose first season with the Blue Jays has already been a huge success.
Cease, who won the American League Pitcher of the Month award for July, has cleaned up his control issues and delivered elite numbers since signing his seven-year, $210-million contract. His K/9 is up to 13.12 from 11.52 last season, his home run rate sits at a career-low 0.53 per nine innings, and his 2.30 FIP is the best of his career.
Soriano has his own impressive line: a 3.29 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 24.9% strikeout rate and .216 batting average against. The Blue Jays are banking on more, though. They want to tighten up the walks, turn some of those misses into chase and whiff, and unlock another level.
That’s the gamble Toronto made when it moved Nimmala. And it’s the kind of gamble that tells you exactly how the Blue Jays view José Soriano.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Catching Depth Suddenly Looks More Valuable Than Ever
With catcher prices climbing around the league before the trade deadline, Toronto had a reason to take a close look at its own depth chart. Brandon Valenzuela drew interest as clubs scrambled for help behind the plate, and the market only reinforced how hard it can be to find even a short-term fix at the position. Deals involving the Angels, the Red Sox and other teams underscored the premium on catchers, making Torontos depth look like more than just a nice-to-have.
Alejandro Kirks presence as the Blue Jays long-term catcher helped shape that decision, giving the club a clear answer at the top of the depth chart while allowing it to hold onto Valenzuela. For a team that understands how quickly catching depth can disappear, the choice to keep him was less about standing pat and more about preserving an asset in a market where the demand is obvious and the supply is thin. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Add Intriguing Starter But One Part Of This Trade Stings
Spencer Arrighetti gives the Blue Jays something they can always use in a rotation search: a young right-hander with upside and years of control. The trade that brought him over from Houston, with Daulton Varsho going the other way, also fits Torontos broader push to keep adding arms that can matter beyond just the next few weeks. Arrighetti had spent his entire big league career with the Astros, so this is a significant change for a pitcher who knew one organization and one clubhouse.
What makes the move sting a little is the human side of it. Arrighetti spoke emotionally about leaving the team he had only ever played for, and he now has to make a fresh start in a different market while working his way back from injury. The Blue Jays are betting that the long view is worth it, since he is under team control through 2029, but the immediate picture still depends on how quickly he gets healthy and settles in once he returns. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Gausman Just Left Blue Jays Fans With An Emotional Message
Kevin Gausmans exit from Toronto closed one chapter for the Blue Jays, but it did so with a message that landed more like a farewell than a breakup. After being dealt to the Chicago Cubs, Gausman took time to thank the organization and the fans who embraced him, giving the kind of parting note that tends to stick with a clubhouse and a city long after the transaction is filed away.
The right-hander is already moving on to his next stop, with a Cubs debut set for Friday against the Kansas City Royals, yet his words suggested Toronto will not be just another stop on the itinerary. For Blue Jays fans, it leaves the deal feeling a little less final than most, with the emotional part of the story still hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]