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The Blue Jays have signed Ismael Munguia, who is drawing Juan Soto comparisons.
The Toronto Blue Jays seem to be the talk of the MLB town right now. Taking the reigning World Series Champions to Game 7, they have put the pedal to the medal during the winter to revamp their team. Toronto has added Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers, and Kazuma Okamoto to its professional ranks. They also have position player prospects who could impress this upcoming season. Jorge Burgos, Geovanny Planchart, and Ismael Munguia are all players of different talents.
As the future of Bo Bichette, Kyle Tucker, and Alex Bregman is dissected and put together again, trade rumblings are rising. According to an MLB.com report, the Chicago Cubs are close to acquiring Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins. Additionally, the Blue Jays have a couple of their own players who could be on the move.
So while the New York Mets sign their own infield depth, the signing of Munguia by the Blue Jays can be seen as a similar move to shore up their outfield depth. However, Munguia is an interesting player who is drawing a surprising comparison to Juan Soto.
Toronto Blue Jays Sign Ismael Munguia
According to the Blue Jays’ official transactions page online, they signed LF Munguia on December 22nd, 2025. Despite this being the transaction date, it was not posted to the page until January 7th, 2026.
Munguia is 27-years-old, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 158 lbs. In 2025, he played 91 games at the AAA level, recording four home runs, 31 RBIs, two triples, 11 doubles, and 69 hits. He finished with a .246 batting average and a .655 on-base percentage.
He played the entire year with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Amongst his teammates, he finished 11th in RBIs, fourth in triples, 11th in doubles, and eighth in hits. However, he was one of the best on his team when it came to walks and strikeouts.
Munguia ranked last out of all batters on his team in strikeouts (25), and second-last in walks (22) amongst batters who played at least 60 games.
Lastly, he ranked third in stolen bases with 23.
Ismael Munguia Draws ‘Juan Soto’ Comparison
In March of 2024, Grant Brisbee released a report on three underrated San Francisco Giants prospects having great springs. On the list, he gave fans a heads-up of what to expect with Munguia. Specifically, on an attribute that he shares with heavyweight slugger Juan Soto.
“Munguia was an under-the-radar prospect to follow in 2022,” wrote Brisbee. “He snuck onto my list of bold predictions last season. I’ve been enamored of him for a long, long time, and this spring, he’s hitting .600 with a 1.647 OPS. More than that, he’s an absolute delight to watch.”
“With a passion and flair that’s similar to Juan Soto, except Munguia is more ‘chaotic good’ on the D&D alignment chart than Soto’s ‘chaotic neutral.”
Reaching further back, in a 2023 prospect report, Munguia’s strengths were listed as his intangibles.
“Munguia’s biggest strength might be intangibles,” Kevin Cunningham wrote. “Munguia plays with exuberance and energy, making his team better. But we can’t talk much about intangibles. Munguia’s aggressive swing is very contact oriented, and at his best, he will get a lot of hits with doubles power with it. Defensively, Munguia plays more with energy than anything else, covering a lot of room in center field with an average throwing arm.”
“Munguia has the tools to be an average center fielder, and a somewhat above-average defender at the other outfield spots.”
The Latest Trade Rumblings
As far as trade rumblings go, Cabrera is the big one. Jeff Passan reports that outfield prospect Owen Caisse will be part of the return package.
But do the Blue Jays have any trades in the hopper right now?
Jose Berrios Linked to Braves
Mark Bowman of MLB.com has recently linked Jose Berrios to the Atlanta Braves. In a recent article, he lists Berrios as a “wild card” trade option to address their starting rotation needs.
“The 31-year-old, two-time All-Star has made 30-plus starts each of the past four seasons for the Blue Jays and he posted a sub 4.00 ERA in two of those seasons,” Bowman wrote on January 7th, 2026. “He might be the odd man out as the AL champs prepare to enter 2026 with Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, and Cody Ponce in their rotation.”
“He might not be a difference maker, but there’s value in the 30-plus starts he has provided on an annual basis.”
Bye-Bye Nathan Lukes or Anthony Santander?
Ben Nicholson-Smith recently floated the idea of making a trade to help accommodate another bat on the Blue Jays roster.
In his piece, Nicholson-Smith specifically mentions Nathan Lukes or Anthony Santander as potential trade bait as part of the ripple effect from the Okamoto deal.
“While further space could always be cleared if needed, the Blue Jays do have a full 40-man roster after adding Okamoto,” Nicholson-Smith wrote on January 5, 2026. “And from a playing time standpoint, Nathan Lukes may be on the outside looking in after the Okamoto deal, as it pushes Barger to the outfield with Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho.”
“Adding someone like Tucker would presumably require a corresponding trade of an outfielder like Santander or Lukes.”
It will be interesting to see what happens with free agents and the trade market over the next few weeks. One thing is certain for Blue Jays fans: Toronto is going to be exploring a lot of different options.