The Chicago Cubs have acquired pitcher Mike Soroka from the Washington Nationals for two prospects, sources told ESPN on Wednesday night.
Soroka, 27, is 3-8 with a 4.87 ERA in 16 starts while leading the league in hit batsmen with 14.
Soroka is a 6-year veteran, having begun his career with the Atlanta Braves in 2018 before pitching for the White Sox last season and then signing a one year deal with the Nationals for 2025. The righty didn’t pitch in 2021 and 2022 due to repeated Achilles issues. He has a career 3.91 ERA in 85 games including 68 starts.
The Cubs are looking for arms ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline as they’ve been without the services of Justin Steele for most of the season while pitchers Jameson Taillon (calf), Javier Assad (oblique) and Porter Hodge (shoulder) are all on the mend. All three are due back soon.
Soroka provides both depth in the rotation and the bullpen as the team DFA’d righty Chris Flexen on Tuesday ahead of the deal for Soroka. There’s room to add even more over the final day of MLB trading.
While Soroka’s overall numbers don’t look good this season, his expected stats are much better, including his expected ERA which is 3.32.
The Cubs are sending Triple-A outfielder Christian Franklin and 18 year-old infielder Ronny Cruz back to Washington in the deal. Both prospects rank outside the Cubs top 10, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. Franklin, 25, was hitting .265 with eight home runs for Iowa while Cruz had two home runs, 10 stolen bases and a .270 batting average in the Arizona Complex League.
