HOUSTON — Every few minutes, a new player arrived at the Toronto Blue Jays road clubhouse. Spencer Arrighetti walked across the hall from the home side while Josh Smith and Jameson Taillon strolled in before batting practice. José Soríano was the last of Toronto’s MLB trade deadline additions to show up, driving down the tunnel in a golf cart just before Monday’s first pitch. Eventually they’d all arrived.
The Jays acquired 10 players on deadline day, including four big leaguers. Here’s what you need to know about each of them:
SP José Soríano
Over the last three seasons, Soríano sits 23rd in ERA among pitchers with at least 400 total innings (3.73). That’s just behind Dylan Cease (3.59) and just ahead of the recently departed Kevin Gausman (3.88). Acquired for Arjun Nimmala and two other prospects, Soríano immediately becomes the Jays’ No. 2 starter and should fill that role for the multiple seasons. He’s under team control through 2028.
Soríano’s primary pitch is a sinker, which leads to one of baseball’s highest ground ball rates (52.3 percent, per Baseball Savant), alongside a curveball, fastball, splitter and slider. The Jays, manager John Schneider said, don’t expect massive arsenal tweaks for Soríano. They like the stuff, but just want it more in the zone.
“Trying to limit the walks,” Schneider said, “and trying to not be on the edges as much.”
The Jays have had recent success harnessing effectively wild arms, such as Cease, Robbie Ray and Yusei Kikuchi. Even if they don’t get Soríano to throw more strikes, he’s still a top-half rotation arm to build around.
The 27-year-old, who hasn’t pitched since July 26, will make his Jays debut on Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies.
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SP Spencer Arrighetti
Arrighetti, sitting in the Daikin Field news conference room in his new Jays gear, wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to the Astros. The right-hander is from Houston and grew up an Astros fan. Playing on the same team as George Springer, he said, will be “really special.” As with Louis Varland in Minnesota, the Jays hope to pluck a local boy in Arrighetti and get the most out of him.
Arrighetti is similar to Soríano, with less MLB success. He suppresses hard contact and strikes batters out, but misses his spots and walks batters far too often. In 53 MLB appearances, Arrighetti has a 4.66 ERA with 4.5 walks per nine innings.
“The zone’s really small now,” Arrighetti said. “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.”
In his first bullpen session with the Blue Jays’ pitching coaches, Arrighetti said, they’re already “refining” with a few small tweaks. The righty declined to reveal those adjustments, but said the data on his pitches was “exciting.”
One thing to note about the 26-year-old starter is that he has three option years remaining, which means he can be sent down to Triple A this season and in the next two. For a team that will need capable rotation depth moving forward, that optionality is particularly valuable.
Recently recovered from right foot nerve irritation, Arrighetti will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday.
SP Jameson Taillon
Taillon knew there was a possibility he’d be traded to Toronto this week. The Jays called him when he was a free agent in 2022 and he knew they had called the Cubs when he was designated for assignment on July 27. The 34-year-old, with Canadian parents who met at the University of Toronto, is now finally a Jay.
After a decade of reliability as a mid-rotation starter, posting ERAs between 3.20 and 4.50 from 2016 through 2025, Taillon was terrible in Chicago this year. He owned a 5.92 ERA and 6.73 FIP, allowing 25 homers in 15 starts. Mentally, Taillon said, he got too timid, thinking about potential homers before they happened.
“I wasn’t like, by any means, looking for a fresh start,” Taillon said, “but when it happened, I kind of took a step back and thought it could be for the best.”
Since his DFA, Taillon has been working at Tread Athletics in North Carolina. He said he’s rebuilding his confidence, and the Jays pitching coaches have already gone over some pitch grip changes and reviewed old delivery footage. Taillon lost about a half mile per hour on his fastball this year, but while he already doesn’t throw that hard (averaging 91.8 mph), it does make a difference. Time will tell if small adjustments and fresh confidence keep the ball in the ballpark.
With Soríano and Taillon joining the Jays, Toronto has pivoted to a six-man rotation for now. We’ll see if that sticks after Trey Yesavage lefte Tuesday’s loss with knee soreness after feeling a pinch on the mound. He’s going for an MRI Wednesday morning, Schneider said.
Taillon, who is a free agent at the end of this season, will make his first start on Wednesday against the Astros.
Jameson Taillon struggled mightily with the Cubs, but is already seeing positive results in work with Jays’ coaches (Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
UTIL Josh Smith
After back-to-back solid seasons, Smith is having a disastrous year. The lefty’s average, on-base and slugging all dropped over 30 points compared to his previous two seasons. It’s easy to see why Toronto is betting on a rebound, acquiring him alongside Josh Stephan for lefty reliever Adam Macko.
“I’d like to get back to a player I know I can be,” Smith said.
He has played just 45 games this year, going on the injured list with a glute strain in early May, hurting his wrist while on the IL, then getting sick with viral meningitis and being hospitalized for six days. Now, Smith says, he’s healthy and has regained strength from the illness. The 28-year-old said that laundry list of ailments isn’t an excuse for his poor play, but perhaps it’s an explanation.
Smith is expected to play mainly against right-handed pitchers, Schneider said, and can contribute at second base, third base and left field. These next 48 games are essentially a tryout. He’s entering his second offseason of arbitration eligibility this winter after making $3.225 million this season. If Smith rediscovers his 2025 form, he may be worth tendering a contract in the winter. If not, it could be a brief Toronto tenure.
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SP Dasan Hill
Hill is the clear top prospect Toronto acquired at the deadline. He was part of the three-player package for Jeff Hoffman.
“It’s never easy to part with some of your better prospects,” Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll said after the deadline, referencing Hill.
The 20-year-old lefty starter possesses premium stuff, hitting 100 mph with his fastball alongside a sweeper, slider, changeup and curve. As with a few of Toronto’s big-league pitching adds, though, the challenge is harnessing that fire. In High A this year, Hill walked 37 batters in 45 innings. He did strike out 77, but the free passes led to a 5.80 ERA in 16 starts. Toronto assigned him to High-A Vancouver.
SP John Klein
An undrafted signee by the Twins in 2022, Klein was also part of the Hoffman package. The 24-year-old uses his 6-foot-5 frame and long stride to release his pitches much closer to the plate than most. That helps his mid-90s fastball play up and has aided his rise to the big leagues this year.
“John Klein is an incredible development story,” Zoll told reporters in Minnesota. “And one of the nicest kids you could be around.”
In 64 innings at Triple A, as both a starter and reliever, Klein posted a 5.91 ERA, striking out 10.4 batters per nine and walking 4.8. In 4 1/3 MLB innings, he allowed two earned runs. At the very least, Klein adds some upper-minors pitching depth to a team that’s needed plenty of that this year. He was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to begin his Jays tenure.
2B/LF Dameury Pena
Pena was the third piece of the Hoffman return and the consensus lowest-ranked prospect of the group. He split time at second base and left field in Minnesota’s lower minors and has one clear strength: contact.
There was a commonality among most of Toronto’s prospect hitter additions, and it was the ability to put the bat on the ball. Pena, across Single A and High A this year, has hit .300 with one homer and 15 total extra-base hits. He’ll join Hill in High A.
OF Brett Bateman
Another contact king, Bateman broke out in 2026 with a massive half-season at Triple A with the Cubs. He became half the return for Gausman at the deadline and could help fill Toronto’s future outfield holes.
One opposing evaluator described Bateman as “strong to good” in centre field and a “left-handed pest at the plate who certainly lacks thump.” He’s hit .312 in 82 Triple-A games with three homers. With solid speed (20 stolen bases on 23 attempts this season) and outfield versatility, he may get to Toronto’s MLB roster later this year with Daulton Varsho now gone to Houston. The Jays don’t have many obvious options to play centre next year, and Bateman could certainly be a contender. He’s currently assigned to the Triple-A Bisons.
INF Ty Southisene
Coming over from Chicago alongside Bateman, Southisene possesses a very similar profile to the young outfielder. He’s hit .306 with a .425 OBP in 66 games in Single A and High A this year, but hasn’t hit a homer. He also flashes real game speed, stealing 31 bases on 37 attempts.
While Southisene has mostly played shortstop in the low minors, an opposing evaluator suggested he may end up a “pesky utility man” who can play infield and corner outfield in the future. He’s been assigned to High-A Vancouver.
SP Josh Stephan
The other piece of the Smith and Macko deal, Stephan is a 24-year-old Triple-A starter who, like Klein, adds more depth to Toronto’s upper-minors pitching staff.
He threw 101 innings in Triple A this year, but homer issues pushed his ERA up to 5.44. Stephan owns a deep six-pitch arsenal, surviving without high velocity or elite stuff. He’ll start at Triple-A Buffalo, but isn’t too far from his first MLB call-up.
The Athletic‘s Dan Hayes contributed to this story.