Cubs' Michael Soroka to Go on IL After Leaving 1st Start since Trade With Injury
Starting pitcher Michael Soroka is heading to the injured list after exiting his first start as a member of the Chicago Cubs early on Monday.
According to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the Cubs announced that Soroka will be placed on the 10-day IL after experiencing shoulder discomfort, which forced him to be lifted following the second inning of Monday's 3-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
The Cubs acquired Soroka from the Washington Nationals prior to last week's MLB trade deadline in exchange for prospects Christian Franklin and Ronny Cruz.
Soroka explained to reporters what led up to his removal from Monday's game, saying: "Went to go put a little extra on a fastball and it grabbed me a little bit. And it didn't go away."
Soroka had experienced a dip in velocity prior to getting traded to Chicago, but an MRI he underwent before the trade came back clean.
The 28-year-old righty said he is "embarrassed" to land on the IL so quickly after his Cubs debut, and Cubs manager Craig Counsell commented on the situation, saying: "We didn't have any signs of it. His velocity has gone backwards. He's trying to figure out how to fix that. He was optimistic in the first couple days here that we could help him there and things could get better. This is unfortunate."
In the two innings Soroka pitched for Chicago on Monday, he allowed one hit, one walk and one run, while striking out three. The hit and run were courtesy of a solo home run he served up to catcher Tyler Stephenson.
Soroka is in the midst of his sixth MLB season after enjoying previous stints with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox.
Originally a first-round pick by the Braves in 2015, Soroka had his best season with Atlanta in 2019, earning his first and only All-Star selection by virtue of a 13-4 record and 2.68 ERA.
Soroka also finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting and sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting that year, but he never got to build on it, as injuries limited him to a total of nine starts over the next four seasons.
A torn Achilles cost him all but three starts in 2020 and the entire season in 2021, and after re-tearing it, he missed all of 2022 as well.
Soroka bounced back to make nine starts last season for the White Sox, and he was trending in a positive direction this season with the Nats before getting traded to the Cubs.
In 16 starts for Washington before getting traded last week, Soroka was 3-8 with a 4.87 ERA, which may seem mediocre on the surface, but his 1.13 WHIP and 87 strikeouts over 81.1 innings pitched told the story of a pitcher who was perhaps rounding back into form.
The trade to Chicago put him in the thick of a pennant race, and while he could still end up playing a big role down the stretch, his status is now very much in question.
Starters Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad are out on rehab assignments and working their way back from IL stints of their own. Until they are able to return, the Cubs are down to Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton, Colin Rea and Ben Brown in their rotation.
At 65-47, the Cubs trail the Milwaukee Brewers by three games for the NL Central lead, and they currently hold the top wild-card spot in the NL.
