Jose Soriano: Details on the talks between the Twins and the Blue Jays

As you know, on the morning of the trade deadline, the Blue Jays acquired Jose Soriano.

Obviously, the goal wasn't to win in 2026—the goal was to lay the groundwork for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, years during which he'll be under the team's control.

They had to acquire him now, and that's exactly what they did.

This will give him more time to work under Pete Walker, but that's not why he was acquired now.

Several teams were after him, and it seems that if the Blue Jays hadn't gone after him, he would have ended up somewhere else.

A few hours after the trade (and thus a few hours before the deadline), there were rumors that the Blue Jays were receiving calls about Soriano.

And now Dan Hayes and Mitch Bannon of The Athletic have published an article about the hours following the Soriano trade.

Hayes covers the Twins, and Bannon covers the Blue Jays. The Twins, along with the Cubs and other clubs, called the Blue Jays.

Ross Atkins listened, because that was his job. But he never really came close to trading his new pitcher.

The Twins may have offered up some good prospects, but it wasn't in the Blue Jays' best interest to make that trade.

Otherwise, they would have simply retained Arjun Nimmala's services instead of letting him go to Anaheim in exchange for Jose Soriano.

Kaelen Culpepper, a highly touted infielder, was part of the discussions. That said, the Blue Jays also wanted young pitcher Riley Quick.

It's worth noting that with two top prospects like that, Jeff Hoffman would likely have been included as well—he was traded to Minnesota a few hours later in a separate deal.

Regardless of the Blue Jays' season, the team needed to acquire a good pitcher with control for several years.

That's exactly what they did.

This lays the foundation for a championship run in 2027. There's still work to be done… but one step at a time for the Blue Jays.

• Will they return this season?

• The Rangers pitcher is injured.

• Luis Urias will be out for several weeks.

• Can Spencer Arrighetti pitch through the pain?

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