Blue Jays bolster bullpen with addition of Joakim Soria

As part of the Blue Jays race to add pitching for the drive to the playoffs, the ball club announced they have acquired 37-year old right-handed reliever Joakim Soria from the Arizona Diamondbacks for two players to be named later.

Soria is in his 14th season in the major leagues this year and has pitched in 763 career games over that timeframe.  This past offseason the Mexican product signed a one-year deal worth $3.5 million with Arizona to pitch out of the bullpen after having a successful season with the Oakland Athletics in 2020.   This year Soria has collected six saves, posting a 4.30 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.

Soria will be joining his ninth major league team when he puts on a Blue Jays uniform and in that time he has picked up 36 wins and 229 wins while posting a very impressive career 3.06 ERA.  Soria leans on a fastball that registers between 92-93 mph and a 91 mph cutter, while also adding in a slow curveball and slider.

Friday afternoon, the Blue Jays acquired another bullpen arm when they traded for reliever Joakim Soria from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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He is best know for his first go-around with the Kansas City Royals when he was their closer over a decade ago.  In the span of five years, Soria was an All-Star twice and record 160 saves.

It is unclear who the two players to be named later will be, but with Soria’s age and lack of dominance this season, I would not expect any prospects in the top 20 going back in return.

The club will have to make a coinciding 40-man roster move to fit Soria onto the club.  With Tyler Chatwood already being DFA’d with the addition of Jose Berrios, my best guess would be Breyvic Valera.  We will likely find that out shortly.

Do you think Soria is an upgrade in the bullpen?