That Could Not Have Gone Any Worse for the Cubs

The Chicago Cubs needed to add multiple arms to their starting rotation at the trade deadline and while the asking prices were reportedly insane it still would have been ideal to target those mid-tier pitchers. The Cubs acquired one, looking at the upside of Michael Soroka, who had an above average strikeout rate, induced a decent amount of ground balls and seemed like a good change of scenery candidate for the Cubs.

Well, things with Soroka could not have gone any worse. The right-handed pitcher lasted a total of 31 pitches in his debut with the Cubs on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out three in the first and then after giving up a solo home run in the second inning Soroka had a talk with the team trainer in the dugout, which was the first sign of something being off.

The other alarm bell going off was that Soroka's fastball velocity had dropped below 90mph in his second inning of work and in a blink of an eye the Cubs had lost the only starting pitcher they traded for last week. The 28-year-old will be placed on the injured list after experiencing shoulder discomfort.

The Cubs traded away a pair of prospects for the rental pitcher as Christian Franklin and Ronny Cruz were sent to the Washington Nationals last week.

Fans were already upset by the Cubs going after another project and were none too pleased to see that Soroka was already showing signs of decline in terms of his velocity. Although he had solid results, Soroka went from throwing in the 93mph range to 91mph in his last couple starts with the Nationals.

Soroka did have an MRI prior to the trade and apparently everything was fine. The pitcher said he got injured in the second inning, trying to reach back for more on his fastball.

This isn't the first time Soroka has dealt with a shoulder injury. During his 2018 rookie season, Soroka only made five starts, missing most of the year with a shoulder issue and it lingered into 2019, but he did return in April and was an All-Star for the Atlanta Braves that year.

Soroka had two surgeries to repair his Achilles, costing him nearly three years in the majors before he once again returned on a permanent basis with the Chicago White Sox in 2024, after he was traded by Atlanta. He struggled as a starter, but was fantastic out of the bullpen last year. However, Soroka threw a total of 79.2 innings in 2024, the most he's thrown in a season since 2019.

After his two innings with the Cubs, Soroka is at 83.1 innings in 2025. Now, the shoulder is feeling sore and the Cubs are back to square one. Ben Brown has to step up. The team has to continue to rely on Colin Rea. Fingers crossed that Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad not only return from the IL without any setbacks, but they Cubs need them to be effective just to survive down the stretch.

What a mess this has turned into for the 2025 Cubs.