Jose Soriano just delivered his best start as a Blue Jay, and it adds real weight to an extension case.

He went seven innings, inducing 16 ground-ball outs, allowing six hits and two runs with a walk and three strikeouts.

That outing dropped his season ERA to 3.48.

Toronto acquired him from the Angels for a package headlined by Arjun Nimmala, and he's since formed a genuine 1-2 punch with Dylan Cease in a rotation battered by injuries all season.

The overall numbers since the trade haven't been overwhelming on the surface. In eight starts, Soriano carries a 4.27 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

But the underlying trends tell a more encouraging story.

Why the underlying numbers support a longer commitment

His ground-ball rate has climbed to 56% with Toronto, up from 51.9% with the Angels, exactly the kind of contact management that leads to sustained success.

His walk rate has dropped too, from 11.2% before the trade to 8.2% since arriving in Toronto.

There's also a case that some batted-ball luck has worked against him. His .303 BABIP sits right in line with his career high of .306, suggesting regression toward better results is realistic.

Tanner Bibee's five-year, $48 million extension offers a real baseline for what a Soriano deal could look like.

Bibee had posted at least 3 WAR in each of his two seasons before signing that extension. Soriano posted a career-high 2.8 WAR last season despite a 4.26 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, a number that could climb further in an organization known for developing pitching.

At 27 years old, Soriano remains under team control for only two more seasons.

Given what Toronto gave up to acquire him, locking him into a longer-term deal now is the logical next step before his value climbs even further with continued strong outings like tonight's.

Whether the Blue Jays move on this before his trade-controlled window shrinks further is the real decision facing the front office this offseason.