CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs say they knew the risk when they traded for pitcher Mike Soroka — who saw his velocity drop over his final few starts for the Washington Nationals before the deal.
On Monday, Soroka left his first start for the Cubs with shoulder discomfort, which landed him on the injured list.
“We knew the velocity was trending down,” President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Tuesday afternoon. “We talked through that extensively. Given the market, given the asking price…we felt like it was a good bet to make. Right now, it’s not looking like a good bet.”
Hoyer said the team tried to sign Soroka in the offseason as they see potential in the veteran righthander whose career has been hampered by injuries. He was 3-8 with a 4.87 ERA for the Nationals this season, though some of his expected stats were better than his actual ones. But a 2 mph drop on his fastball raised concerns — enough for Soroka to go undergo an MRI before his final start as a National.
“For my peace of mind, we decided to check that box off and there was nothing that presented to be an issue at the time,” Soroka said after the Cubs 3-2 loss on Monday.
The Cubs weren’t willing to pay any of the steep prices for many of the pitchers that changed teams but felt like Soroka was worth the risk at a reduced rate. They traded two prospects for him — Triple-A outfielder Christian Franklin and 18-year-old infielder Ronny Cru — but neither is considered elite.
“That risk profile was known,” Hoyer said of Soroka’s dip in velocity prior to the trade. “We spent a lot of time on that…We did a lot of due diligence, a ton of research, and if it doesn’t work out, it’s on me.”
The Cubs have been struggling to fill out their rotation this season after they lost lefty Justin Steele to a season ending elbow injury, Shota Imanaga for over a month to a hamstring ailment and righty Jameson Taillon to a calf issue. The latter player is working his way back to the majors, as is Javier Assad — who hasn’t pitched this season due to an oblique injury.
The team might turn back to righty Ben Brown to fill that spot in the rotation until help arrives. He took over for Soroka on Monday.
The Cubs are hopeful Soroka won’t be lost for the year; he’s likely to pitch out of the bullpen if he can return before the end of the regular season. In the meantime, Chicago has to live with the notion they traded two prospects for a pitcher who might only give them two innings during a pennant race.
“There’s risk,” manager Craig Counsell said. “So far, it didn’t turn out well.”
