Cubs' latest release just came at the worst possible time

When the Chicago Cubs traded for Michael Soroka ahead of the MLB trade deadline last week, the assumption was that he would be replacing Chris Flexen's role. Flexen was designated for assignment days before the deadline, suggesting that the Cubs were ready for an impact addition to their pitching staff. Soroka wasn't the "impact addition" many Cubs fans thought would be made at the deadline.

Making things even worse for the Cubs is that Soroka didn't even make it out of his first start with the team healthy. Soroka was pulled from Monday's game after two innings due to shoulder discomfort. The Cubs have since diagnosed it as a shoulder strain, and Soroka will be shut down for the next 7-10 days.

In a comedic sense of timing, on the same day Jed Hoyer was defending his terrible decision to trade for Soroka, the Cubs officially released Flexen. Knowing that they do, Soroka on the IL with an uncertain timeline, chances are the Cubs probably would have elected to hold onto Flexen a little bit longer. At least, until Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad returned from injury.

Cubs’ latest roster decision makes their timing look even worse

Flexen was an unsung hero for a Cubs' pitching staff that faced injuries to Assad, Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and Justin Steele at various points during the season. Of course, Steele is out for the remainder of the season, which adds even more pain to the idea that Hoyer knew about the risk in trading for Soroka, but there's only so much that can be said about that disaster.

In 43 2/3 innings pitched with the Cubs this season, Flexen had an ERA of 3.09, and that honestly is impressive, considering his under-the-hood metrics. Flexen was only striking out 12 percent of the hitters he was facing, and he carried an expected ERA of 5.07 with a FIP of 5.01. Under the impression that the pitching staff was getting healthy, it made sense for the Cubs to end the experiment when they did.

If Flexen doesn't land a Major League opportunity elsewhere, it wouldn't be a complete shock to see the Cubs bring him back on a minor-league deal. If nothing else, the Soroka injury proves they once again need depth.

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