Why this newest player will have the biggest impact on the Blue Jays after the trade deadline

The 2026 MLB Trade Deadline is officially over, and the Toronto Blue Jays were busy. As expected, the Blue Jays were among the league's sellers, as they traded Kevin Gausman, Daulton Varsho, and Jeff Hoffman. Yet, the Blue Jays also acted as buyers.

When it comes to the Blue Jays' new additions, it is absolutely apparent that José
Soriano will make the biggest impact for the American League East team. He has given the Blue Jays another high-impact pitcher to work with, which was needed when noting that they traded Gausman.

The Blue Jays gave up a pretty large trade package to acquire Soriano from the Los Angeles Angels. This is because they traded Arjun Nimmala, Eddie Micheletti, and Angel Rivero to land the four-year veteran. While it's a big package to give up, this is a trade that has the potential to benefit the Blue Jays tremendously for at least a couple of seasons.

Soriano's stats from this season show just how good of a pitcher he is capable of being. In 22 games with the Angels this campaign before the trade, he had a 9-6 record, a 3.29 ERA, and 127 strikeouts. He has also had an ERA under 4.00 in three out of his four MLB seasons, so he has shown that he is a very dependable starting pitcher.

Yet, more importantly, Soriano is much more than a rental for the Blue Jays. This is because he is under team control through the 2028 season. With that, he has the potential to be a very important part of the Blue Jays' starting rotation for multiple years.

José Soriano is still young enough that he could get even better for the Blue Jays

When noting that Soriano is still just 27 years old and only in his fourth major league season, he still has the potential to become an even better pitcher. Sometimes a change of scenery can help pitchers hit a new level, and it would not be surprising in the slightest if he does for the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays were said to have over paid for the services of Dylan Cease. While with the Chicago White Sox and the San Diego Padres, the right-hander had control issues of his own, and many analysts felt the seven-year $210 million deal they handed him was a bit of an over pay. However, less than a year into the deal, the Blue Jays clearly have no regrets as Cease has solidified himself as an ace - and a Cy Young caliber pitcher in Toronto.

Soriano has very good upside, and it is one of the reasons why the Blue Jays gave up what they did to get him. If he continues to develop into a star pitcher, he will make a significant impact for a Blue Jays club that is looking to turn things back around. It will be interesting to see how the new Blue Jays pitcher performs from here, getting the same kind of coaching Cease has gotten.

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