Michael Soroka’s trip to IL raises brutal questions for Cubs’ front office

There's an inherent risk involved when trading for a rental starting pitcher. There is an inherent risk involved when trading for a rental starting pitcher who needs fixing. There is an inherent risk involved when trading for a rental starting pitcher who has an injury history. There is an inherent risk involved when trading for a rental starting pitcher who has had a considerable dip in velocity over his last three starts. If you can't tell, the Chicago Cubs took a major risk when they traded for Michael Soroka, and it backfired immediately.

Soroka made his Cubs debut on Monday night and only lasted two innings before leaving the game with shoulder discomfort. After the game, Craig Counsell immediately informed reporters that Soroka would be headed to the IL, and it's unclear how the Cubs will be without their biggest pitching addition at the trade deadline.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that the Cubs would have checked Soroka's medical before they traded with the Washington Nationals, and he passed a physical as part of the deal being completed. However, the Cubs conveniently left out that Soroka had an MRI after his last start with the Nationals, the third consecutive start in which his velocity was down.

Michael Soroka injury timing couldn’t be worse for Cubs and Jed Hoyer

For an executive who was in the final year of his contract, this type of failure would be enough to justify a change in the front office after the season. That won't happen for Jed Hoyer, who received a multi-year extension days before the deadline. After his extension, Hoyer rewarded the fanbase with what now has the potential to be the worst trade he has made in his tenure as the top executive in the Cubs front office.

To be clear, this is not celebrating the injury of Soroka, or being happy that it happened. This is simply pointing out that there were glaring warning signs on Soroka's profile, and a direct dip in velocity that could be pointed to as a reason not to make the deal. Yet, that was the move Hoyer elected in his misguided approach to chase down the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.

Hoyer better be among the first faces the Cubs' beat sees at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. There are immediate questions that need to be answered, and the freshly extended Hoyer can't hide from this egregious mistake.

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