The Toronto Blue Jays, one day after trading away an old ace, picked up a new arm to replace Kevin Gausman in the rotation. Jose Soriano, who reworked his pitch usage to better make use of his power stuff, was acquired in a four-player trade with the Los Angeles Angels. The headliner for the Angels among the return is former first-round pick Arjun Nimmala.
The Blue Jays’ Return
- SP Jose Soriano (3.29 ERA, 127 K over 123 IP)
Now-former Angels ace Jose Soriano had himself quite a year in 2026, particularly at the start. Soriano posted a .84 ERA across his first 42.2 IP this season, striking out 49 over that span in a historic start. Yes, the numbers came back to normalcy as the year progressed. But he’s still been one of the better pitchers in the league.
While Soriano has been one to walk batters on a regular basis, with a BB/9 over 4.0 in the last two seasons, what made him jump up in value was how Soriano changed up his pitch usage. Generally speaking, the 27-year-old was a heavy groundball pitcher who leaned heavily on his sinker during the early parts of his MLB career.
The sinker is still his most-used pitch — although not as much as compared to years past. Instead, more four-seam fastballs to throw up in the zone, as well as more splitters.
He can gun it as far as velocity is concerned; Soriano topped out at 101 MPH but can sit in the upper-90s with both his sinker and four-seamer. He’ll also change speeds with a low-90s splitter and a mid-80s spike curve, which was his most-used secondary offering.
Soriano has two years left of team control.
The Angels’ Return
- SS Arjun Nimmala (.265/.364/.453, eight HR & 26 XBH over 62 GP (FCL, A, A+, AA))
- OF Eddie Micheletti Jr. (.251/.347/.454, 14 HR & 38 XBH over 93 GP (AA))
- SP Angel Rivero (2.36 ERA, 52 K over 42 IP (FCL))
The Blue Jays made Arjun Nimmala the club’s first-round pick out of high school in Florida three years ago. Nimmala has steadily risen up the ranks, although his development has been somewhat capped this season thanks to injury. Still, he put up good numbers in Double-A this season when healthy.
For Nimmala, it really is all about the power. Launch-angle swing, big frame and strength to work, making him the kind of hitter who could wind up being a 25-30 home run hitter at the big-league level. However, there are questions, just like with any prospect.
One, can he stay at short? Two, how much swing-and-miss will arise in his game over the coming months & years? It wasn’t too bad in High-A last season, at least compared to what it could have been. But it is something to watch.
Outfielder Eddie Micheletti Jr. was an eighth-round pick out of Virginia Tech two years ago. He’s hit for power in each of the last two seasons; 28 combined over the last two seasons between High-A and Low-A. He walked a ton (78) last season, although that number came down quite a bit (48 over 401) with New Hampshire this season.
Aggressive hitter who also took an inordinate amount of called strikes. Lots of contact with Micheletti, as well.
Additionally, the Jays also sent over teenage pitcher Angel Rivero.
Analysis
It’s not all that complicated as to why the Blue Jays traded away Kevin Gausman but also bought with Jose Soriano.
Gausman was a pending free agent who likely didn’t fit into the Jays’ long-term plans. But Soriano, a 27-year-old with team control, did. And he’ll slide right into a rotation headlined by Dylan Cease, for a Toronto club that’s not out of the playoff race just yet despite a below-.500 record and a down season nearly one year after a fantastic playoff run.
Now, the Jays have laid the foundation for the future, and the hope is that Soriano can seamlessly fit into the club.
As for the Angels, the big pickup here is Nimmala, a bat to dream about. Tons of raw power, and someone who can be a long-term fit for a club in need of upside talent in the Minor League system.
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