Rotation help is on the way for the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs have traded for veteran right-hander Mike Soroka of the Washington Nationals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Wednesday. Jesse Rogers of ESPN later added that Triple-A outfielder Christian Franklin and 18-year-old infielder Ronny Cruz were headed back to Washington in exchange for Soroka.
At 27 years old, Soroka is a former All-Star who earned the honor as a member of the Atlanta Braves in 2019. That was also Soroka’s best year in the bigs as he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA and 142 strikeouts over 29 total starts.
But Soroka’s career has since been set back by multiple brutal injuries. He tore his Achilles tendon in 2020 and then suffered a complete re-tear of the same Achilles while still in his rehab process in 2021. Soroka missed two full MLB seasons as a result before returning midway through the 2023 campaign.
This season for the Nationals, Soroka had been more of an innings-eater than anything, going 3-8 with a 4.87 ERA and 87 strikeouts over 16 total starts. But Soroka should benefit from the move to a more pitcher-friendly park in Wrigley Field, and he is in the final year of his contract as well.
The Cubs are a stellar 63-45 this season but are a bit weak in their rotation behind ace Shota Imanaga (who recently missed two months due to a hamstring injury) and 2025 All-Star Matthew Boyd. Jameson Taillon (calf) is still on the injured list, leading to rookie Cade Horton and journeyman Colin Rea being relied upon for meaningful starts.
Soroka, who also pitched out of the bullpen for the Chicago White Sox in 2024, should be versatile enough to fill whatever role the Cubs need him to. Meanwhile, the 44-64 Nationals are very much in sell mode and traded away some other notable pitchers earlier in the day as well.
