Cubs Front Office Executive Shares Thoughts On Michael Soroka Trade And Injury

The Chicago Cubs surprised a lot of people when they made only one deal ahead of the MLB trade deadline for a starting pitcher, acquiring Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals in exchange for infielder Ronny Cruz and outfielder Christian Franklin.

It was certainly a surprise to see the Cubs shopping in the bargain bin once again, not willing to part with the kind of assets it would have required to land a true impact arm such as Sandy Alcantara or Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins.

Another reason the Soroka acquisition raised some eyebrows was because his velocity was diminished in recent starts before being moved.

Normally, that is a precursor for a pitcher who might be dealing with an injury.

Michael Sorok — David Banks-Imagn Images

Soroka underwent tests with the Nationals in the days before the MLB trade deadline and nothing popped up, with the results being clean.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, there was an issue that they just didn’t see during medical testing because Soroka lasted two innings in his debut before being removed from the game because of shoulder discomfort.

He has since been placed on the injured list, a significant blow to a Chicago rotation that is without Justin Steele for the entirety of the season and Jameson Taillon is still sidelined as well.

It was a risk acquiring only Soroka and that deal is already backfiring, as their rotation will be exactly the same for the foreseeable future as it was before the deadline.

Hoyer on the Soroka deal

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer recently spoke about acquiring the veteran right-hander from the Nationals, why that was the direction the team went in and that there is still a chance he helps the team down the line.

“Given the market, given the asking price…we felt it was a good bet to make…Right now, it’s not looking like a good bet…Doesn’t mean he won’t help us the rest of the year. Waiting on medical stuff,” Hoyer said, via Jesse Rogers of ESPN on X in response to being asked about the Soroka acquisition.

Jed Hoyer on acquiring Mike Soroka who went on the IL after 2 innings: “Given the market, given the asking price…we felt it was a good bet to make…Right now, it’s not looking like a good bet…Doesn’t mean he won’t help us the rest of the year. Waiting on medical stuff.”
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) August 5, 2025

Not all trades are going to work out, but this is a bit of a self-inflicted wound not being willing to go above a certain threshold to acquire the kind of talent needed to keep the team on par with other contenders.

For example, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies spared no expenses acquiring the kind of upgrades they knew were necessary to help reach their full potential.

Chicago did a good job of reinforcing the bullpen, acquiring Andrew Kittredge from the Baltimore Orioles and Taylor Rogers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A deep bullpen can help overcome issues with the starting rotation, but the Cubs have put themselves in a tough spot relying heavily on Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd to carrying the load.

Trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by four games in the National League Central, Chicago missed a golden opportunity to add an impact pitcher, someone capable of helping close that gap and get the team back atop the division.

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