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, RHP Angel Rivero

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.

“He’s been incredible,” said GM Ross Atkins. “Since his injuries and transitioning from the ’pen to a starter, his stuff is electric. He’s competitive and throws the ball over [the plate] at a good enough rate. Our pitching group led by Pete Walker is getting better every day and they’ve had success in this area.”

This also allows the Blue Jays to remain somewhat competitive down the stretch. Even after selling off Gausman and setup man Jeff Hoffman, both Atkins and manager John Schneider said that they intend to compete down the stretch, and why not? While they do that, the Blue Jays will begin the early work with Soriano, laying the groundwork for two more seasons.

“I think there is a way to unlock more strike-throwing ability and that comes with catching, too, the catcher’s setup and framing,” Schneider said. “There are some areas we want to evolve a little bit with his game. He’s got a really, really good starting point to go forward with, obviously. He’s having a great year.”

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 entered Monday sitting 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.