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José Soriano’s impressive home debut provides glimpse into Blue Jays’ transformation plans
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Photo credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Aug 12, 2026, 23:30 EDTUpdated: Aug 12, 2026, 23:51 EDT
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TORONTO — It’s early, but progress is already underway as José Soriano aims to blossom into the best version of himself. Through two starts, the Blue Jays have started offering suggestions different from the ones the Angels’ staff — some of whom were fired on Friday, including pitching coach Mike Maddux — had put forward, insight that the right-hander’s new team believes will help maximize his results.
Most of that messaging, however, began with Soriano’s home debut at the Rogers Centre on Wednesday. It was his second start since being acquired from Los Angeles ahead of last week’s trade deadline, and only the third time he’s ever pitched in this stadium during his career — he fired five shutout innings here back on April 22.
When Soriano donned a Blue Jays jersey for the first time last Friday in Philadelphia, he did so with little critique from the organization’s pitching department. They typically avoid the urge to make immediate changes when a new pitcher first walks through the door. But they still had a clear game plan for their toy: throw more sinkers and fewer four-seamers — which he put into motion against the Boston Red Sox.
“Electric sinker, fastball — four and two,” Schneider said about Soriano’s arsenal, after holding Boston’s lineup to one run on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts across six innings on 90 pitches (63 strikes).
“He’s got really good stuff, and his curveball was pretty good. Landed it at times, and the split is a really good pitch, too. But man, it’s a pretty dynamic two-seam and four-seam combo.”
The groundwork for that pitch-usage adjustment was laid during Soriano’s debut against the Phillies, during which his four-seamer finished with a season-low 11.7 per cent usage. The increase on his sinker was a bit more marginal, at 30.9 per cent, though the gap between those offerings is what stood out more than anything.
Then, versus Red Sox hitters, it jumped to a season-high clip of 48 per cent.
Being that Soriano’s sinker is a pitch that helps generate more strikes and fuels his 90th-percentile ground-ball rate — sitting at 52.5 per cent entering the night — this is how Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker want to see him evolve. It needs to be the pitch that sets the tone for his other weapons.
“I thought he was really good, in control, and has taken to what we’ve talked about a little bit,” Schneider said. “Just really trying to get his stuff in the zone, and he did that, and we played good defence behind him.”
Prior to this season, that had been the case for the 27-year-old righty. But the Angels’ staff had him reverse course over the first four months of 2026, opting for an increase in four-seamers — especially in two-strike counts. Now, the Blue Jays are working with him to revert to last season’s deployment.
“Easy to communicate with him,” Soriano said of his early impression of Walker. “He’s always trying to help you. He’s incredible.”
This is also how the Blue Jays plan to make Soriano more efficient, just as he was Wednesday night. Through the help of his defence, including Alejandro Kirk throwing out Ceddanne Rafaela at third base on a stolen-base attempt and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. starting an inning-ending double play, he had only faced the minimum through the first four innings — and on just 44 pitches, no less.
Because of that efficiency, it kept him fresher while navigating Boston’s lineup a third time, pitching deep into the game — another point of emphasis from Toronto’s staff — and amassing at least six innings of work for the 10th time this year, and for the first time in nearly a month.
It’s precisely what the Blue Jays envisioned when the opportunity to acquire Soriano arose. They firmly believed there was more untapped potential in his game, and through two starts, that vision is beginning to play out in front of our eyes.
How Soriano and this team approach an offence will surely alter on a game-by-game basis. But the foundation exists for him to take that step to solidify himself as a consistent front-line starter, someone who already possesses the tools to anchor the rotation alongside Dylan Cease — both now and in future seasons.
“Obviously, he’s got great stuff, and I’m glad he’s on our side,” Kazuma Okamoto said via translator Yusuke Oshima.

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