Some quick grades for the Jays deadline day deals.<\/p>\n
Kevin Gausman to the Cubs for Ty Southisene and Brett Bateman<\/p>\n
Gausman\u2019s having the poorest season of his five with the Jays, but still has a 102 ERA+, so he\u2019s still a useful pitcher. And he could step it up in a pennant race. The Jays didn\u2019t send any money along with Kevin.<\/p>\n
Southisene was listed as the Cubs #10 prospect by Baseball America. He\u2019s 21, and has played most of this season in High-A ball. hitting .326\/.451\/.372. I do like guys who get on half the time. But he has no power and I think pitchers will throw him more strikes as he moves up the ladder. He can play short or second. Could end up a utility players. Has some speed.<\/p>\n
Bateman is #21 on MLB Pipeline\u2019s list of Cub prospects. He\u2019s a lefty bat, hitting .312\/.430\/.421 with 20 steals in Triple-A. Could be a lefty hitting Myles Straw-type. I\u2019d imagine we\u2019ll see him in Toronto before the end of the season.<\/p>\n
Quick Grade: C. Not an overwhelming return for Gausman, but I don\u2019t know that you could have hoped for much more.<\/p>\n
Arjun Nimmala, Eddie Macheletti, and Angel Rivero to Angels for Jos\u00e9 Soriano<\/p>\n
In the middle of all this selling, the Jays became buyers.<\/p>\n
Soriano won\u2019t be a free agent until 2029. He\u2019s been a good pitcher for the Angels, with a 3.29 ERA and a 2.7 bWAR this year in 22 starts. Career, he has a 7.0 bWAR in 113 games 73 starts. He, Cease and Yesavage could be a very good threesome at the top of our rotation.<\/p>\n
Nimmala is a very good prospect. I hate losing him, but you have to give up something to get a starter like Soriano.<\/p>\n
Quick Grade: B. Depends on what Nimmala becomes.<\/p>\n
Adam Macko to Rangers for Josh Smith and Josh Stephan<\/p>\n
Macko has been on the highway from Toronto to Buffalo a lot. He\u2019s been perfectly ok. Macko is out of options after this year.<\/p>\n
Smith has had five years in the MLB. He\u2019s played every position other than catcher and pitcher. In 2024 he had a 3.5 bWAR and in 2025 a 2.9 bWAR. This year hasn\u2019t been as good, -0.6. He\u2019s hitting .213\/.299\/.272. And he\u2019s, more or less, major league average defensively where ever he\u2019s played. We do seem to like utility infielders. If he can be the player he was the last couple of years, he would be useful. If not, he can\u2019t be optioned.<\/p>\n
Stephan is a 24-year-old RHP. He has a 5.44 ERA in Triple-A this year. He gets ground balls. He could have Macko\u2019s job of bouncing between Buffalo and Toronto if all goes well.<\/p>\n
Quick Grade: C. Macko\u2019s value was that he had options, that changes next year. Smith either remembers how to hit or spends a lot of time in Buffalo.<\/p>\n
Daulton Varsho to Astros for Spencer Arrighetti<\/p>\n
Varsho was having a terrible season for the Jays. The team is sending some money to Houston as well. He\u2019s a free agent at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
Spencer Arrighetti is 27, a right-handed pitcher, who can\u2019t be a free agent until 2030 and he still has an option year left. He was a sixth round pick in the 2021 draft. He\u2019s in his third season in the majors. This year he has a 4.60 ERA in 17 starts. In 88 innings, he\u2019s got 87 strikeouts, but 50 walks. Batters are hitting .215\/.344\/.360 against him. If Pete Walker can work a little magic and bring his walk rate down, he could be a decent back of the rotation starter. As we\u2019ve seen this year, you can never have too much pitching.<\/p>\n
Quick Grade: A. Turning two months of Varsho into a starting pitcher with three-years of control left is pretty good. If Walker can help him find the strike zone more, it would be a great trade.<\/p>\n
Jeff Hoffman to the Twins for Dasan Hill, John Klein and Dameury Pena<\/p>\n
Hoffman was not a fan favourite, had a very rough time as our closer, but was excellent since moving into the setup roles. It\u2019s entirely possible that he will be great for the Twins. He is signed through next season.<\/p>\n
The Twins pick up their second Jays reliever in a month, after getting Tommy Nance. They give up:<\/p>\n
Hill, who Baseball America had as their #8 Twins prospect is a left-handed pitcher. He was their Competitive Balance pick in 2024 (the 69th overall pick). He walks too many, but struck out 35% of batters this year. If he can\u2019t cut down the walk rate, well he could be a back of the pen reliever. If he does cut back, he could be a very good starting pitcher.<\/p>\n
Klein is 24, a RHP. He\u2019s has pitched 4.1 innings in the majors this year. In Triple-A, he has a 5.91 ERA this year, with 74 strikeouts in 64 innings (also 34 walks and 14 home runs). He looks like a middle reliever type. Hopefully, Pete can work a bit of magic with him.<\/p>\n
Pena turns 21 September first. He\u2019s playing mostly second base in A ball but sounds unlikely to stay in the middle infield. He\u2019s hitting .300\/.373\/.362. Lots of walk, not many strikeouts, but not enough power to make it as an outfielder. Some speed, but seems a long shot to have a major league career.<\/p>\n
Quick Grade: A. Honestly, getting Hill for Hoffman would be an A for me, if Klein can be a semi useful reliever that\u2019s gravy.<\/p>\n
Of course, if Soriano pitches great and the Jays make run at a Wild Card spot, I\u2019ll edit this to a A.<\/p>\n
The Jays come out of the trade deadline with +1120 odds to make the playoffs<\/a>, +30000 odds to win the AL East<\/a> and a +17500 odds of winning the World Series<\/a>. I don\u2019t gamble, but I\u2019m figuring that those are very long odds. I wouldn\u2019t suggest betting the mortgage on them winning the World Series.<\/p>\n