The Toronto Blue Jays' marquee trade deadline acquisition is preparing to suit up for his new team for the first time.
Manager John Schneider announced Tuesday that right-hander Jose Soriano will make his Blue Jays debut on Friday in the series opener against the Phillies in Philadelphia.
Canadian right-hander Jameson Taillon, acquired from the Cubs on Sunday, will make his Blue Jays debut Wednesday in the series finale against the Houston Astros.
Dylan Cease, the AL pitcher of the month for July, will start in Thursday's makeup game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Veterans Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber will also make weekend starts against the Phillies.
With Trey Yesavage starting Tuesday against the Astros, the Blue Jays are rolling with a six-man rotation.
"We'll probably do it at least one time through, kinda see how it looks like, how it shakes out," Schneider said of the new rotation.
Additionally, Schneider said right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who was acquired from the Astros for Daulton Varsho, will pitch in a rehab game for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday. Arrighetti is dealing with a right foot nerve irritation but is expected to return to the majors soon.
"We're going to shock the world and go with a nine-man rotation," Schneider joked.
Soriano was activated by the Blue Jays ahead of Tuesday's game against the Houston Astros, with right-hander Lazaro Estrada being optioned to Buffalo to make room on the active roster.
Soriano last started on July 26 against the San Francisco Giants and pitched five innings of shutout ball, striking out five and walking three. He was scratched from a start for the Angels on Saturday in anticipation of a trade.
The 27-year-old also shared that he was asleep at his hotel on Monday morning and awoke to a phone call telling him he'd been traded to the Blue Jays.
"Happy because this is a good organization,” Soriano said.
Soriano started out of the gate this season as one of the hottest pitchers in baseball, allowing only one run in his first six starts. While he hasn't kept up that pace, he has still been effective and will provide a boost to Toronto's rotation for the foreseeable future.
He has two more arbitration years left and will be a free agent after the 2028 season.
Soriano has pitched to a 3.29 ERA this season with 127 strikeouts and an American League-leading 57 walks over 123 innings.
The hard-throwing right-hander debuted in 2023 at age 24 and transitioned from the bullpen to a starting role after his rookie season.
He averages 97 m.p.h. with two different fastballs, a sinker and four-seamer, while also mixing in a curveball and splitter that grade out as plus pitches according to Statcast's run value.
The prospect package Toronto sent out for Soriano was headlined by double-A shortstop Arjun Nimmala.
Toronto's first-round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft at 20th overall, Nimmala has eight home runs, 34 RBIs and an .817 OPS across four minor-league levels this season. He is the No. 43-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline's top 100.
Outfielder Eddie Micheletti Jr. and right-hander Angel Rivero were also included in the Angels' return.
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