Michael Soroka’s likely role change adds insult to injury for Cubs trade

At long last, the Chicago Cubs finally provided an update on injured starting pitcher Michael Soroka. After trading for Soroka last month, the oft-injured starting pitcher only lasted two innings before he had to be shut down with a shoulder strain. Since then, the team has been mum on their status of their deadline addition, but that changed on Tuesday when pitching coach Tommy Hottovy spoke with Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune.

“He’s feeling better every single day, starting to progress to where he wants to be. So I think we’ve kind of turned the corner on the throwing side. Now it’s just making sure the build-up over this week is where we want it to be, but he looked good for the first one of really getting on it.”

Soroka threw off the mound before the Cubs' 5-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. It seems like Soroka will have another throwing session before the end of the week, and the next step would likely be a bullpen session. From there, a minor-league rehab assignment is a certainty, considering the dip in velocity he saw before the injury.

Cubs’ Soroka trade looks worse after updates suggests a role change

Assuming there are no setbacks, the middle of September feels like the time when Soroka could return to the Major League team. Soroka moving to the Cubs' bullpen always felt like it was going to happen once Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad returned. Factoring in Soroka ramping back up, and it feels like a move to the bullpen remains the most logical choice, especially since that means he won't need as extended of a rehab assignment as if he were being stretched out to return to the rotation.

Once Soroka landed on the IL, it was hard to envision any scenario where the trade was going to look like a success. Even if Soroka is effective in the bullpen, it likely will be as a swing man who can eat multiple innings. Considering the Cubs gave up two organizational top 20 prospects for Soroka, this role change only confirms what a gross misevaluation the front office had at the deadline.

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