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The Chicago Cubs were in the market for a starting pitching upgrade prior to the 2025 trade deadline. However, instead of trading top prospects for a top-shelf pitcher, they made a smaller bet on former Washington Nationals pitcher Mike Soroka. So far, it is not looking like a great bet.
Even president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is admitting that it is not.
Soroka is already on the injured list after being removed from his first start with the Cubs due to shoulder discomfort.
What makes it even more concerning is that the Cubs knew Soroka had experienced a slight dip in his velocity in his starts leading up to the trade deadline. Soroka underwent an MRI just to rule out anything problematic, with all of the results coming back clean.
Still, the Cubs were aware of the drop in velocity — usually a big indicator of some sort of arm problem — and decided to go forward with the trade anyway.
Hoyer admitted on Tuesday that the move was a risk and that it’s not looking like a good bet right now. He also added that if it does not work out, it all falls on him.
“We knew the velocity was trending down,” Hoyer said Tuesday afternoon, via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “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.”
The fact that Soroka is having injury issues should not be much of a surprise. Much of his career has been sidetracked by injury issues, costing him all of 2021 and 2022, and limiting him to just 49 appearances over the past two-and-a-half seasons.
That track record, along with the drop in velocity, should have set off major alarm bells for the Cubs.
The good news is they did not trade any of their elite prospects for Soroka, but it still does not absolve Hoyer and the front office of blame.
The 65-47 Cubs are in a position where they have a chance to make a serious run at the National League pennant this season, and they are facing pressure to win given the uncertain future of star outfielder Kyle Tucker. Tucker is likely to test the free-agent market this offseason and leave for the highest bidder, making him a very important one-year rental.
There should have been incentive to make a big move at the trade deadline to not only keep up with the other teams in the league, but better position themselves to win. They did not want to pay the top prospect capital and went for a cheaper option. It is not looking like a promising path and could have the Cubs, and their fans, asking “what if” at the end of the season.
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