The Blue Jays traded for Angels right-handerJose Soriano, sending their No. 2 prospect Arjun Nimmala to Los Angeles along with OF Eddie Miceleti and RHP Angel Rivero.Jose Soriano has a career record of 26-27 with a 3.72 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He had Tommy John surgery twice in 2020 and 2021, but pitched a career-high 169 innings last year and is on pace to eclipse that mark this season, making him a durable starter. This season, Soriano is 9-6 with a 3.29 ERA (9th in the American League), with 127 strikeouts in 123 innings with a 1.25 WHIP. He will step in to pitch many of the innings that would have gone to Gausman this season before he was traded to the Cubs. And then Soriano will be part of the Blue Jays rotation for 2027 and 2028.So was it worth it? Let's break down what Toronto is getting in Soriano and the prospects they gave up before we render a verdict on the trade.Soriano's Season in Three ActsThrough his first six starts, Soriano was the best pitcher in baseball. Not only that, it was arguably the best first six starts in a season in baseball history.Soriano's 0.24 ERA was the lowest by any pitcher through his first six starts of a season since earned runs became official in 1913, minimum 30 innings, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs. Soriano's ERA was even better than Fernando Valenzuela's first six starts during Fernandomania, though Valenzuela threw six straight complete games, which is so 1981.There was no Sorianomania, and he quickly turned back into Jose Soriano.PitcherSeasonERAEarned RunsInnings PitchedJose Soriano20260.24137 2/3Fernando Valenzuela19810.33254This six-game stretch hints at Soriano's tantalizing potential. Unfortunately, the next 14 starts were more in line with the rest of Soriano's career as you can see from the graphic below, though he has pitched well in two starts since the All-Star break before being scratched from his most recent start as the Angels explored trading him.Jose Soriano's season in three parts | Data Source: Baseball ReferenceSoriano Could be The Blue Jays #2 StarterThere is a strong argument that the most important stats for a pitcher are strikeout percentage, walk percentage, and ground ball percentage. Well, two out of three ain't bad.An Elite Ground-Ball Pitcher With a Power SinkerSoriano is elite at keeping the ball on the ground. He is in the 90th percentile in ground-ball rate this season at over 52% and was in the 100th percentile last season at an incredible 66%. As a comparison, Framber Valdez is perhaps the pitcher in today's game best known for inducing grounders. Valdez was in the 94th percentile last season and in the 97th percentile this season. Valdez signed a three-year contract with Detroit before the season, with $ 115 M guaranteed. Soriano is making just $2.9M this season, will be arbitration-eligible for 2027 and 2028, and then a free agent after the 2028 season. Thanks to his ground-ball rate, Soriano excels at preventing home runs. In 2025, he led the American League by giving up only .6 HR/9, though that is up to .9 HR/9 this season, thanks to that messy middle stretch.Soriano induces many of his ground balls with a power sinker that averages 96 mph. He throws it 27% of the time, closely followed by his curve at 26%, four-seamer at 24%, and splitter at 19%. He also throws a slider, but just 5% of the time.Jose Soriano | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectBatters are slugging just .290 against the sinker, in large part thanks to all the ground balls, though some regression is likely, as the expected slugging percentage is .419.A Slightly Above Average Strikeout Pitcher with a Nasty CurveSoriano's strikeout rate this season is 24.9%, which is good for the 67th percentile. It is the highest in his career, as he has never before topped the MLB average, which is around 22%. His best strikeout pitch is his curveball. 43% of the time, when an at-bat ends with his curveball, he gets a strikeout, and it has an elite 46% whiff rate, which is tops in the Majors among starters. His curveball is tied for the 2nd-best curveball in the Majors in terms of run value. On the other hand, his fastball has been very hittable.Soriano Leads the American League in WalksThe biggest opportunity for Soriano to improve is to reduce the number of free passes he issues. Soriano leads the American League with 57 walks, though that is partly due to him pitching.Lowering Soriano's 4.2 BB.9 will be important for his success, though Dylan Cease is the favorite for the American League Cy Young Award with a 3.8 BB/9. Cease, though, tops the league in hits allowed per nine innings while Sorinao ranks 8th.One thing that might help Soriano is the Blue Jays catchers are far better at framing pitches than the Angels catchers.Jose Soriano, meet Alejandro Kirk & Brandon Valenzuela.Catcher Framing RunsLos Angeles Angels:-13 in 2026 (30th in MLB)-41 in the 2020s (28th in MLB)Toronto Blue Jays:+15 in 2026 (1st in MLB)+58 in the 2020s (4th in MLB) pic.twitter.com/OTxbsNmkSH— Chris Black (@DownToBlack) August 3, 2026The Prospects Toronto Sent to the AngelsArjun Nimmala is the headline prospect the Blue Jays sent to Los Angeles. He is the second-highest-rated prospect traded at this year's deadline, behind Zyhir Hope, who the Tigers got in the Tarik Skubal trade. He was the second-highest-rated prospect in Toronto's system behind only JoJo Parker.Toronto drafted Nimmala in the first round in 2023 (20th overall pick). The Blue Jays have been very aggressive with Nimmala's assignments, starting him in Single-A Dunedin as a 17-year-old; his 543 plate appearances as a 19-year-old in the Northwest League in 2025 were the most by any player aged 19 or younger.Entering 2026, he had faced only one pitcher in his professional career who was younger than he was.Scouting Grades (from MLB Pipeline): Hit: 45 | Power: 60 | Run: 50 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55As you can see from his scouting grades, Nimmala's carrying tool is power and there are some questions about his hit tool. In 62 games, primarily with High-A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire, Nimmala is hitting .265/.364/.453. MLB Pipeline ranks him the 43rd-best prospect in baseball, In it July update, Baseball America ranked him 39th.43rd-ranked prospects are a crapshoot over the last ten years, ranging from Konnor Griffin and Hunter Brown to players who never panned out, such as Kristian Robinson and Justus Sheffield.Arjjun Nimmala | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThe key for the Blue Jays in this deal was having JoJo Parker, who ranks ahead of Nimmala in prospect rankings and is a better all-around hitter than Nimmala. The Blue Jays clearly see Parker as their shortstop of the future.Neither Micheletti nor Rivero is ranked in the Blue Jays' Top 30 prospects. Micheletti is a 24-year-old in Double-A who has hit 14 home runs with an .800 OPS, and Rivero is a 19-year-old lottery ticket in the Florida Complex League.The VerdictGiving up six years of potential control of Nimmala hurts. But excellent starting pitching is not easy to find, and Soriano has proven he has the potential to be exceptional. He also comes with two years of team control in addition to the remainder of this season.He has been inconsistent over his Angels career, but he is in his prime, is controllable for the next two years at bargain prices, and there are no top-of-the-rotation starters available in free agency this year like Dylan Cease was this past offseason. Trading away a highly rated prospect for an inconsistent pitcher is a big gamble that takes a lot of guts on the part of the Blue Jays front office. That said, the Angels are not exactly known for brilliant player evaluations or development, so they could be a good trade partner. Baseball Trade Values agrees with this.Today the #BlueJays reportedly acquired RHP Jose Soriano ($41.1M surplus trade value) in exchange for SS Arjun Nimmala ($29.6M), RHP Angel Rivero (not in system) and OF Eddie Micheletti (not in system).The deal is accepted by our model as a moderate underpay by Toronto.— Baseball Trade Values (@BaseballValues) August 3, 2026One significant risk for the Blue Jays is a prolonged lockout next season. Depending on how players' service time is accounted for during those negotiations, the Blue Jays could lose part or even all of one year of control for Soriano, whereas they likely would not have lost any for Nimmala.Ultimately, Toronto is betting on Soriano taking his game to another level. I believe he has the stuff to do so. His sinker and curve give him a strong floor, and his dominant early-season stretch shows his ceiling. Cease, Soriano, and Yesavage give Toronto the potential to have one of the best top three starters in the game.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow