HOUSTON – After hectic deadline day arrivals to a team on which they had precious few pre-existing relationships, the four newest members of the Toronto Blue Jays only really started to get settled Tuesday.
Spencer Arrighetti described himself as “the new kid at school,” a Houston native thrilled at being teammates with George Springer, whom he as a teenager watched lead the Astros to the 2017 World Series, and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer.
Jose Soriano, slated to start Friday’s series opener in Philadelphia, said others had told him the Blue Jays are “a good team, a good organization and the players are incredible, and they were right. The moment I met everybody here, there's a very good group.”
Jameson Taillon, designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs last week amid a difficult season and set to start Wednesday’s finale in Houston, called meeting an entirely new group, “exciting.”
“It truly is a fresh start,” he continued. “Got to know them a little bit (Monday), learning everyone's name, and they've been great. It seems like a really outgoing fun crew. Hopefully I can just add to that vibe.”
Josh Smith only knew some of the Blue Jays “from playing against them, nobody personally,” but assistant hitting coach Cody Atkinson “was my minor-league hitting co-ordinator (in Texas), so that's probably my closest relationship. … Already since I've been here, he's been pretty fired up, definitely working on some things.”
Here’s a quick look at how they got to be Blue Jays and where each is at:
JOSE SORIANO
How he learned about the trade: “I was in Baltimore and I was in the hotel and I received a phone call in the morning and they told me I got traded here. I was sleeping and I saw on my phone a couple phone calls and when I called them back, they told me the news.”
Initial reaction: “In the moment I felt emotional because I've been a long time with the Angels. But at the same time I felt happy because this is a good organization and I have the opportunity to help this team to win games.”
On his 2026 season: “I think I've been consistent. I know a couple of times I've struggled but it's part of this game. Sometimes it's going to be good, sometimes it's not. Just have a strong mentality because I have a strong mentality and I never give up.
“With my delivery, I just want to always repeat the good things, that's my goal, trying to be the most consistent that I can. I think I'm on the right (path), just trying to do the simple things and not trying to do much.”
One of his baseball influences: “I watched a lot of Pedro Martinez and I try to be like him, do the same things he did in the past, like never be scared to face anybody, just go there and try to do the job. That's my mentality, try to do that.”
SPENCER ARRIGHETTI
How he learned about the trade: He was throwing a bullpen Monday afternoon at Daikin Park and “I knew something was up when Joe (Espada, the Astros manager) came out to the bullpen. Usually he's giving the reins to Josh (Miller, the pitching coach) or Ethan (Katz, the pitching assistant) for the most part. So I had a feeling, but I finished my bullpen, got three steps out of the gate and he stopped me and told me to walk with him. I was like, ‘Oh, that's got to mean something.’ Definitely it was a surprise. …
“I didn't know this was even in the realm of possibility. Obviously, trade deadlines get crazy. This is the first year out of the three that I've been up that I actually wasn't nervous at the trade deadline. I don't know. Maybe there's something to that. Maybe I should be more worried every year.”
Initial reaction: “I told my wife last night it was every emotion there is all at once. I'm going to try not to get sad about it. I had this bubble of supreme comfort being in Houston, being from Houston, my family had the luxury of being at just about every game I've ever pitched here. And that's probably the hardest part to part with. My house is 20 minutes from here. It's where I'm going to raise my kids. Houston will always be home and I am eternally grateful to the people in charge that gave me the opportunity to be an Astro. ... I've played at Rogers Centre a couple of times now and I'm incredibly excited to get there and to represent an entire country. That's something I'm very proud of, something I'm very excited for. Emotion-wise, I mean it was a little heartbreaking, a little bittersweet, but then so exciting and so nice to turn a fresh page and get to write my story somewhere else.”
On his 2026 season: “The zone is really small now and I've just kind of been working on not walking people and I feel like I'm actually taking some really good strides leaning into the pitches that I throw in the zone a ton. That was actually a conversation I had with those guys earlier, was just lean into the weapons that have made me who I am today. Obviously, I've got swing and miss stuff. I'm going to lean into that. I'm going to lean into just being as competitive and as suffocating in the zone as possible. Those are really the things that I've been grinding on the most the last, I would say, a month now. ... Not adding anything new or exciting, just refining the tools that are already in the bag. I threw a bullpen today with the coaches for the first time. And it was awesome. We made a couple little tweaks here and there. And saw some exciting things on the Trackman unit, so I'm fired up to keep going with it.”
Ready to go: He’s currently on the IL with nerve irritation in his right foot but, “I'm ready to pitch. That was the first thing I said when I got into (John Schneider's) office, I’m ready to go. I told him I'd throw this series if he wanted me to, just skip the rehab altogether. There's nothing more that I would like than to face those guys.” He's set for a rehab start at triple-A Buffalo on Thursday. “As soon as I'm done with that, I am able and ready to rejoin the club and help us win some ball games.”
JAMESON TAILLON
How he learned about the trade: “I had flown to Charlotte to work out at Tread (Athletics) for a few days to keep the arm moving (after being designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs). I knew there was a good chance something was going to happen Sunday, so I was just waiting by my phone and got the news (around 1 p.m.) and obviously just really, really excited.”
Initial reaction: “I didn't know how it was going to shake out, if I was going to clear waivers or get traded, or how all that was going to play. I knew Toronto had called and they were interested. Obviously, I was really excited about that. ... The Blue Jays called in free agency in '22 a little bit at the beginning so I let my mind go there a little back then. I know my family's really excited. Direct family, my extended family, obviously a lot of ties to Canada and Toronto specifically. My parents met at the University of Toronto and my grandma lived right downtown for a really long time. I've had a lot of great summers visiting and seeing Blue Jays games and going to the island and doing all that. So I'm really excited.”
On his 2026 season: “Not how I envisioned ending it with Chicago, to be honest. I did it to myself and I didn't throw the ball well there. But I'm really confident that there's more in the tank. … I've given up a lot of home runs this year and just like mental-game-wise, I got to a point where I was pitching a little timid and that's not me. Just kind of thinking about the worst-case scenario sometimes like, man, I want to get ahead but I don't want to leak this towards the middle and give up another home run. So I was out there with those thoughts and that's just like a horrible place to be. That's just kind of the human side. Getting to take a step back, getting that fresh start, I want to get back to who I am, which is filling up the zone with six pitches, being super aggressive, throwing a ton of strikes, letting the defence work. I know I'm coming to a spot with a great defence, which is really exciting.”
Making adjustments: “The pitching guys here have a great reputation and I already sat down with them (Monday) and went over a few things, like messing with the grip here, checking out some old delivery footage there, just seeing how we can blend some things. I'm not necessarily who I was five years ago or whatever, but there are some things that I could get back to doing better maybe two, three, four years ago. I'm just working to identify those. ... At this level the margins are so thin and if you lack a tiny bit of deception that you normally have, or my velocity was down just even a half tick, or if you can kill a couple inches of vertical break on a changeup to get under the barrel, those things can make such a big difference, even though they're small things. So there's a lot at work. I thought at first maybe I was getting unlucky, felt like every flyball was leaving the yard and then after a while it's like, OK, the game's telling me that I'm not doing something right here. So maybe leaning on a few different pitches that aren't giving up as much slug could be a good start and then we have identified just a few delivery things, hopefully, that maybe give me a tick or add a little deception, because every little bit matters.”
JOSH SMITH
How he learned about the trade: “I was at home in Dallas, just hanging out. I was actually hitting at the time, just trying to stay ready, because I had just gotten optioned. Then I got a call from the GM over there and they informed me that I was getting traded here. I think I kind of did expect to get traded. I would have never said to the Blue Jays, but here we are.”
Initial reaction: “We read things on the internet, just never really had any ties to here (in trade rumours). I never saw anything about that. I'm excited to be here. One year removed from a World Series run, I feel like it's pretty special and so to get to join this group is going to be fun.”
On his 2026 season: “I'd like to get back to the player I know I can be. This obviously hasn't been a great year for me, dealing with, not an excuse, some injuries, trying to get back on the field, get healthy, and get ready to go. … A glute strain is how (the run of injuries) started, so I was on the IL for that and then I hurt my wrist while on the IL trying to come back. And then, while on IL, I got a sickness, a viral meningitis is what they called it, and so I was hospitalized for six days, on IV for 14 days. I guess in total missed like seven weeks or whatever trying to get back. But I got the body healthy and then as soon as I got called back up, I was optioned (four days) later and since then just kind of been grinding, trying to figure out some things. But fully healthy, ready to go.”
Seeking better contact: He’s always had high contact rates, but “I feel like that's almost to a fault. I can make contact, but it's almost, this sounds terrible, like I might need to swing and miss a little bit more to try to get a little more behind my swing and hit some balls a little harder. Just because right now it is contact, but it is not very good ball flight, so I was trying to work on that. … I think if I can make a couple changes and get with these guys, obviously they're proven pretty good, I’m excited to work with them. I feel like us baseball players, in my opinion, everybody's different year-to-year. So trying to figure out and manoeuvre what kind of player you are at that point is one of the biggest things. But just trying to rely on these guys and just take their advice and go with it.”
