Blue Jays trade for RHP Soriano, deal No. 2 prospect Nimmala to Halos

HOUSTON -- Just 12 hours after trading rotation cornerstone Kevin Gausman, the Blue Jays have found his replacement, acquiring right-hander José Soriano from the Angels.

The Blue Jays will be sending the Angels a package headlined by No. 2 prospect Arjun Nimmala, their 2023 first-rounder who’s in the middle of an excellent season between High-A and Double-A. Outfielder Eddie Micheletti and right-hander Angel Rivero are also part of the package.

TRADE DETAILS

Toronto gets: RHP José Soriano
Los Angeles gets: SS Arjun Nimmala (No. 2 prospect), OF Eddie Micheletti Jr., RHP Angel Rivero

This is the long-term “buy” the Blue Jays have been looking for. The Gausman deal is not expected to be the end of their “selling," which is still the label they’re likely to leave this Trade Deadline with when the dust settles at 6 p.m. ET. The Blue Jays still have George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer and potentially even Jeff Hoffman available, but the organization always wanted to keep one eye on the long term.

Soriano immediately becomes the Blue Jays’ No. 2 starter alongside ace Dylan Cease, and with the 23-year-old Trey Yesavage rounding out their top three, this rotation is now set for the next two seasons. Soriano is under club control through 2027 and ‘28, and as we saw when the Blue Jays acquired José Berríos in 2021, this organization has also shown an openness to extending its own players.

Getting in front of this business was crucial for the Blue Jays, adding some certainty to their offseason already. Beyond Cease and Yesavage, the Blue Jays are banking on Cody Ponce to return from his ACL injury and perhaps Spencer Miles to slide into a full-time starter’s role, but this rotation needed a solid, established option. The Blue Jays have done this repeatedly over the past five years, stretching back to Berríos, Gausman, Chris Bassitt and others, never shying away from paying for pitchers in their prime.

Soriano is still just 27 and enjoying the best season of his young career, owning a 3.29 ERA with 127 strikeouts over 123 innings. Walks have been an issue for Soriano at times, but his raw stuff is overwhelming. Soriano sits around 97 mph and pairs that with a dominant knuckle curve, which he typically uses as his “out” pitch. Just as Cease came to Toronto with incredible talent he was seeking to make more consistent, some small adjustments could help Soriano go from a very good pitcher in this league to a truly great one.

This also allows the Blue Jays to remain somewhat competitive down the stretch, depending on what else the coming hours hold.

Earlier Sunday, before shipping Gausman off to the Cubs, the Blue Jays made a separate deal with Chicago to acquire Jameson Taillon, who had recently been designated for assignment. Taillon will step in to help the Blue Jays cover innings down the stretch, and if he’s able to bounce back closer to the form he showed in 2025 and prior, that’s still a solid big-league pitcher. By adding Soriano, the Blue Jays’ rotation has the potential to not only stay afloat in August and September, but perhaps perform even better.

Trading for great pitching isn’t cheap, though.

Nimmala, who’d risen to the No. 43 prospect in Major League Baseball, looks capable of sticking at shortstop long-term with power upside and is still just 20. Across 62 games in the Minor Leagues this season, Nimmala is batting .265 with eight home runs and an .817 OPS. The Blue Jays have No. 1 prospect JoJo Parker coming close behind Nimmala, though, so the future of that position is still bright in the organization.

The Blue Jays are expected to continue to be aggressive throughout the day Monday. Long-term, this organization also needs a center fielder, with Varsho headed to free agency and a trade candidate himself. Brett Bateman, acquired from the Cubs for Gausman, gives the Blue Jays an option, but this organization needs to add a star to its outfield group, ideally one who can raise this lineup’s ceiling in the process.

The Blue Jays sit just 4 1/2 games back in the AL Wild Card race, but it’s a steeper hill than that number suggests, given that the Guardians, Twins, Rangers, Mariners, Orioles and Tigers sit between them and the third Wild Card spot.