Cubs’ Craig Counsell clears up Michael Soroka shoulder injury timeline

The Chicago Cubs' dream season has gradually been slowing down, and with the Milwaukee Brewers' rapid ascent, they now find themselves down by four games in the NL Central standings following their 5-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. And while the Cubs look to find a way to avoid letting the Brewers build too big of a cushion, they will have to contend with the injury to starting pitcher Michael Soroka, who was put on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday due to a right shoulder strain.

Soroka may not be the best starting pitcher in MLB, but he's provided some quality innings and has been fairly reliable in 2025 — recording a 4.86 ERA (against a 3.36 xERA) in 83.1 innings of work across 17 starts. His loss depletes the Cubs' starting rotation depth, which is far from what they need right now in the final two months of the season.

The Cubs, however, are going to play it safe with Soroka. Following their loss to the Reds on Tuesday, manager Craig Counsell gave reporters an insight into how Chicago will be approaching Soroka's injury.

“Lower to mid-grade shoulder strain. Basically anticipating on shutting him down for seven to 10 days and kinda re-evaluate where we're at [afterwards]. All in all, not terrible news. I think we'll have a pretty good idea of what's going on in a week,” Counsell said, via Marquee Sports Network on X (formerly Twitter).

Considering how the Cubs are playing the long game, them taking this approach to Soroka's injury should not come as a surprise whatsoever.

Nevertheless, with Jameson Taillon still rehabbing down in Triple-A, their pitching depth will be put to the test in the coming week or so, especially when they'll be facing a tough slate with two more games against the Reds, a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and another three-game set, this time against one of the best teams in MLB in the Toronto Blue Jays.

Michael Soroka's addition not yet working out for the Cubs

The Cubs only recently acquired Soroka with the hopes of bolstering their rotation for the looming stretch run. They gave up infielder Ronny Cruz and outfielder Christian Franklin to bring Soroka in, only for their trade deadline addition to fall to an injury just two innings into his Cubs career.

Chicago is hoping that letting Soroka rest for a week and then re-evaluating him after will remove the pain he's experiencing in his right shoulder.