The Los Angeles Angels made a trade that nobody expected: trade controllable starter Jose Soriano to a non-contending team.
Nobody knew just how committed to being sellers the Los Angeles Angels would be at the trade deadline, but interim general manager John Mozeliak ponied up.
When Mozeliak assumed the role after Perry Minasian was fired, his job was to get the Angels back on track and that meant parting ways with certain players that could help the health of the organization.
Several controllable players drew a ton of interest from contending teams seeking starting pitching, right-handed hitters and a shortstop (who fits the latter) but it was unclear if owner Arte Moreno would actually sign off on Mozeliak moving on from such players.
He did, at least for one of the three players that garnered the most attention. Los Angeles held onto left-hander Reid Detmers, although social media thought he was being traded to the Chicago Cubs for a short time, and shortstop Zach Neto but traded away right-hander José Soriano to the Toronto Blue Jays.
As shocking as it was to see the Angels actually make a move that signals a genuine rebuild, it was even more shocking to see him get sent off to a team that isn’t in the playoff race.
The Blue Jays were two outs and a bobbled grounder away from knocking off the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 World Series. Nine months later, Toronto is 54-61 and in last place of the American League East.
The World Series hangover is real for the Blue Jays, and while they might be out of it right now, acquiring Soriano puts them in position to compete next season.
An anonymous AL executive was asked by ESPN what their favorite move of the trade deadline was and they voted the Soriano trade.
“It was definitely what the Blue Jays – and even the Angels – did,” the executive said.
“All we ever hear about is that controllable starters never move and the price is too high. Well, two teams not in the race anymore got together and pulled off a major deal that normally goes down in the offseason. I loved it.”
Toronto added to a solid starting rotation and could even go on a run during the final two months while the Angels secured three prospects including Toronto’s No. 2 prospect shortstop Arjun Nimmala, who now becomes Los Angeles’ second-best prospect.
Although many fans were confused by this move, this is about as much of a win-win trade as you’ll ever see on the surface.
