The Toronto Blue Jays traded starting pitcher Kevin Gausman to the Chicago Cubs last night for minor leaguers Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene. This morning, it is being announced that the Jays are acquiring starting pitcher Jose Soriano from the Anaheim Angels for minor leaguers Arjun Nimmala, Eddie Mitcheletti and Angel Rivero.
So we have got some of the rare buy-and-sell action from the Jays. At 4.5 games back of Wild Card 3 and 13.5 games back in the American League East, it makes sense that the Jays would deal Gausman, a 35 year old in the final year of a 5 year, $110 million deal. Gausman’s 4.38 ERA in 2026 is the first 4+ ERA he’s had in his time with the Jays, though his FIP of 3.51 and xERA of 3.95 are in line with what he put up last year, when he had a 3.59 ERA, 3.73 xERA and 3.41 FIP. Gausman was a stalwart in the Jays’ playoff run in 2025, allowing ten runs in five starts and a relief appearance covering 30.2 innings in the 2025 postseason, and gives the Cubs a veteran arm to help them down the stretch and that can bolster their playoff rotation.
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The return for Gausman is not as impressive as I would have expected. Southisene is #10 on the Baseball America Cubs top 30 list, and Bateman isn’t on their top 30. Southisene is a 21 year old middle infielder who was a fourth round pick in 2024 and is slashing .306/.425/.372 between low-A and high-A this season. Bateman was an 8th round pick in 2023 out of the University of Minnesota, and has slashed .312/.430/.421 at AAA this season while playing primarily center field.
Having parted with a starting pitcher who was slated to be a free agent at the end of the season, the Jays are apparently replacing him with a starting pitcher who is under team control through 2028. Soriano, 27, is a righthander who had a dominating start to the season, allowing just one run in his first six starts. For the season he has a 3.29 ERA and 3.79 FIP in 123 innings over 22 starts. He’s making just $2.9 million this season, and is likely looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 million for 2027.
Soriano was reportedly generating a lot of interest, and the Angels were thought likely to deal him, though the expectation was that it would be a contender acquiring Soriano. Instead, the Jays were the top bidder, and while they are unlikely to be in the playoff mix this year, they do have someone they can pencil into their rotation for the following two years.
Nimmala, the Jays’ first round pick in 2023, is the prize of the deal, a 20 year old shortstop who has advanced to AA this year, and who is a consensus top 100 prospect who BA has as the top prospect in the Jays system. Micheletti was the Jays’ 8th round pick in 2024 out of Virginia Tech, and is a 24 year old outfielder slashing .251/.347/.454 in AA this year. Rivero is a 19 year old righthanded pitcher who put up a 2.36 ERA in 42 innings in the Gulf Coast League this summer. Neither of them are in the BA top 30 for the Jays.
