Blue Jays Acquire RHP Jose Soriano from Angels
The Blue Jays are on the cusp of selling off their rentals, but that isn't stopping them from acquiring talent controllable beyond 2026.
In a day that looks primed for a sell-off, the Toronto Blue Jays kicked off trade deadline day acquiring right-handed pitcher José Soriano from the Los Angeles Angels for three prospects.
Soriano opened the year an early favorite for American League Cy Young. Though he cooled off, he’s still having a breakout campaign. Through 22 starts, he’s got a 3.29 ERA, 2.1 fWAR, and a 24.9% strikeout rate.
The package going back to Anaheim is headlined by Just Baseball’s No. 27 prospect, shortstop Arjun Nimmala. Across two minor-league levels this season, he’s slashing .265/.363/.457 with a 117 wRC+.
The other two prospects are outfielder Eddie Micheletti and right-handed starting pitcher Angel Rivero.
For a team likely not contending for anything in 2026, it’s nothing short of a fascinating decision by them to acquire Soriano. However, having just traded veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman on the deadline’s eve, they wasted no time replacing him with a younger arm with more team control.
For the Angels, it’s a nice haul headlined by a mid-minors shortstop top prospect. Given the rumors circulating around Zach Neto, Los Angeles now has a possible shortstop of the future.
Let’s peel back the curtain and see why these two teams tangoed on this deal.
The Blue Jays Side
It sends mixed signals when a team eight games under .500 lands a top starter on the market. However, moves like this happen in other sports all the time.
Even with their poor record, the Blue Jays are four-and-a-half games back of a playoff spot. Six teams rank ahead of them in the standings, but a couple of hot weeks, especially post-deadline, could completely turn those odds on its head.
This move is as much a buy-now one as it is one for the future. Soriano, 27, has team control through 2028. Not only that, he’s steadily improved year-over-year since debuting in 2023. In 2024, he got his first taste as an MLB starter. One year later, he saw his ERA spike, but his peripherals improved.
However, this year, he’s been the best of both worlds. His strikeouts spiked again, his walks stayed roughly the same, and he’s remained a great ground ball pitcher.
The 27-year-old slots in and effectively replaces the aforementioned Gausman. Though not overly similar arms, very similar in value.
Bubble teams in other sports make these buy-now, but far-sighted acquisitions all the time. If Soriano were a rental, there’s not much likelihood the Blue Jays feel obligated to make this move. That said, he’s got two additional years of control, making him the perfect candidate for Toronto to swoop in on.
The Angels Side
The Angels made a statement moving Soriano. After years of hanging onto assets, even buying when they shouldn’t, they sold high on an asset entering his prime.
With Neto potentially on the block as well, Nimmala gives the Angels a shortstop of the future option. Even if they don’t move Neto, it proofs them up-the-middle. They have Christian Moore, Vaughn Grissom, and Denzer Guzman, but none have the pedigree as a prospect as Nimmala.
Nimmala, 20, had a tough 2025 in High-A. However, he’s turned a corner in 2026. After a bad 10-game stretch to open the season, he’s slashing .292/.378/.486 with a 127 wRC+ in his last 52 games.
Just Baseball’s June update has him as the No. 27 prospect nationally. Not only was he the top prospect in the Jays organization, he debuts as the top prospect in the Angels organization.
Neither Micheletti nor Rivero were in Toronto’s top 15 when our Aram Leighton and Damon Sharbyani did their July update on the team’s top prospects. That said, that doesn’t make them uninteresting prospects.
Micheletti is 24 years old and having a solid year in Double-A. The lefty bat prides himself on a proclivity for making contact. His biggest issue in 2026, though, is he doesn’t swing a whole lot. Through 93 games, he’s got a zone-swing rate of just 64.6 percent. While his zone-contact rate is 87 percent, he takes a lot of strikes.
He also has a pull air rate of 19.9 percent, helping him reach 14 home runs for the second consecutive professional season.
As for Rivero, he’s in his third professional season. He’s incredibly raw, but he posted a 2.36 ERA for Toronto’s Florida Complex League affiliate.
He made nine starts, 12 total appearances, and has 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings. His walks have jumped every season of his professional career, but he’s still getting his feet wet at the professional level. In fact, this is his first professional season stateside, as he spent 2024 and 2025 in the Dominican Summer League.
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