Michael Soroka Back to Mid-90s in Recent Bullpen

The Cubs’ only real move to bolster the rotation at the deadline was acquiring Michael Soroka from the Nationals, and it immediately went south when the righty left his first Cubs start after two innings. Soroka was immediately placed on the IL with a right shoulder strain, something that had likely been bothering him for quite a while. An MRI while he was still with Washington revealed no structural damage, but something was behind a precipitous drop in velocity.

After sitting 94-95 mph with his fastball through his first 10 starts — which featured a five-week IL stint due to a right biceps strain, Soroka dipped steadily into the low 90s. He was slightly under 91 mph in that first Cubs outing, his lowest of the season. Just under a month on the IL appears to have done him well, however, as Marquee’s Taylor McGregor reported that Soroka was back up to the mid-90s in a 34-pitch live BP session on Tuesday.

That’s great news for the Cubs, who could really use more depth in the rotation. Aaron Civale, who was recently claimed off waivers from the White Sox, appears to be set for a long relief role after spending his career as a starter. Even if Soroka is deployed in the same fashion, which the Cubs might do to keep him sharp, having a pair of multi-inning guys still helps the starters by giving Craig Counsell more confidence to remove them early.

Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd have both pushed past what many expected from them, and there are still several weeks left in the season. With the Cubs’ playoff position nearly cemented, it’ll soon be time to hit cruise control and conserve a few innings for the postseason. They’ve still got an outside shot at picking up five games on the Brewers, so it’ll be a little while yet before we see a slew of bullpen games and rotation shuffling.