The Toronto Blue Jays got Jose Soriano at the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Angels, but considered trading him to the Minnesota Twins.
On August 3, the day of the MLB trade deadline, the Blue Jays and Angels pulled off a blockbuster trade when Los Angeles sent its ace, Soriano, to Toronto for top prospect Arjun Nimmala and two other prospects.
However, as soon as Toronto acquired Soriano, it was reported that other teams were calling the Blue Jays, trying to get him.
Now, we know what teams called and what at least one of the offers was.
Twins Tried to Get Jose Soriano
According to The Athletic, the Twins called the Blue Jays and asked about Soriano after he was acquired by the Angels. The Twins’ offer included their No. 3 prospect, infield prospect Kaelen Culpepper, but Toronto also wanted Minnesota to include highly-regarded pitching prospect Riley Quick, and the Twins weren’t willing to cough up both prospects in the deal.
“Already talking with Toronto about Jeff Hoffman, the Twins discussed a Soriano package built around the organization’s No. 3 prospect, infielder Kaelen Culpepper, and other pieces. The teams were clearly unable to line up when, one source said, Toronto made it clear the only way they would even consider listening further is if the Twins included top pitching prospect Riley Quick as the second piece in a multi-player package,” read The Athletic’s report.
While the trade did not come to fruition, it does show that Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins was at least being creative and listening to offers on his new trade acquisition, just in case another team blew the doors off with an offer he couldn’t refuse.
The Athletic also noted that the Chicago Cubs called the Blue Jays about Soriano, though the Cubs’ offer was not revealed.
Blue Jays Like Jose Soriano
The Blue Jays ultimately did not accept Minnesota’s offer for Soriano, opting to keep the prized pitcher on the team’s roster for the rest of the season.
Soriano, 27, still has two more years of control left beyond this season, so the Blue Jays were in no rush to deal him at the deadline, especially after they just acquired him in a trade, and especially since he’s not a rental, but rather someone who is expected to be around for the next few years.
With the Blue Jays losing No. 2 starter Trey Yesavage to injury just days after the trade deadline, the team is lucky that they didn’t trade Soriano, as moving him would have left a massive hole in the team’s starting pitching rotation, especially now that Yesavage is out.
The Blue Jays really like Soriano, whom Toronto pitching coach Pete Walker believes can show even more than he already has, which is impressive to consider, given that he was one of the best pitchers in the league for the first few months of this season with the Angels, who are one of the worst teams in the league.
Now that Soriano is in Toronto, a better team with better coaching, better defense, and better catchers, he can potentially become an All-Star for the first time, something that Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease became for the first time this year.
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