On Monday, the Toronto Blue Jays shocked the baseball world by acquiring right-handed pitcher Jose Soriano from the Los Angeles Angels.

It was a surprise because the Blue Jays were thought to be clear sellers at the trade deadline, and it was a surprise because they gave up top 100 prospect Arjun Nimmala to make the deal happen.

However, when you really dig into the bedrock of the move, it makes sense for Toronto. Soriano is just 27 years old and is under team control through 2028, so the Blue Jays essentially just got a jumpstart on their offseason shopping now. And considering the labor issues ahead, it might be hard to address needs in the offseason, so Toronto was smart to make something happen at this juncture.

Soriano figures to pair with Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce in next years rotation, with the No. 5 spot being up for the grabs. Perhaps the recently acquired Spencer Arrighetti can factor in there.

And interestingly enough, Soriano has a profile that looks similar to Cease's, so it's clearly something that the Blue Jays feel they can work with and mold.

Cease signed a seven-year, $210 million deal last offseason, and while he was always known as a guy with an electric arm and massive strikeout stuff, he was also known as a guy with some real control issues.

While Cease had five consecutive seasons of 200 or more strikeouts entering this one, he also led the American League in walks in both the COVID-shortened 2020 season and in 2022. He had even more walks in 2023, though it didn't quite lead the AL again.

This season, he's certainly had some bouts of control issues, but his overall stuff has elevated. His hits/9, homers/9 and his 13.1 strikeouts/9 lead the American League. While his control issues are still always around the corner (3.8 walks/9), his improvements have been noticeable.

The Jays obviously think they can mold Soriano similarly.

Soriano is in his fourth season, having gone 26-27 for his career with a 3.72 ERA, and he's spent the entirety of his career with the Halos.

This year, he got off to an electric start, and has continued to post respectable numbers throughout the year: He's 9-6 with a 3.29 ERA in 22 starts. He's struck out 127 batters in 123.0 innings.

Like Cease, the walks have been an issue, as his 57 lead the American League. Cease isn't far behind with 51. 

So again, the team is clearly OK with the walks if they have someone who can limit contact and miss bats, which these guys both do. It's an interesting philosophy to bank on, but it's obviously something the Jays believe in. You can give up walks, or you can give up hits, but you can't give up both.

The team clearly believes Soriano and Cease are good enough to not give up both.