Cubs P Mike Soroka
Heading into the trade deadline, there were ample red flags about Cubs starter Mike Soroka, whose long injury history–he needed three surgeries to repair an Achilles tendon injury and has had shoulder issues through his career–had left him with a 3-18 record over the past two seasons. In fairness, he was pitching for the White Sox and Nationals, but on both years, he had ERAs over 4.70.
But the Cubs still took him on, despite the fact that Soroka seemed to be getting worse. Soroka had gone 0-3 with a 5.23 ERA in five July starts, and the Nats were worried enough about his health to give him an MRI just days before he was traded.
Predictably, Soroka lasted two innings on Monday before he had to be lifted from his debut start and put on the 15-day injured list.
Cubs Had a Light Trade Deadline
Really, if the Cubs had taken a flier on Soroka in addition to acquiring another starting pitcher, it might not be so bad. But Soroka was the only starter Jed Hoyer acquired in what was a painfully subdued trade deadline for a Cubs roster that clearly needed help to finish off what has been such a promising season.
Chicago was supposedly in on stars like Eugenio Suarez, who wound up being dealt to an aggressive Mariners team, as well as pitchers like Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen and Mackenzie Gore, all of whom were not traded on July 31.
Hoyer–as well as other GMs–complained that the asking price for those pitchers was exorbitant.
Jed Hoyer: ‘Not Looking Like a Good Bet’
Talking to reporters on Tuesday (give him credit for that) Hoyer admitted that the team knew Soroka had seen his velocity drop in July and said it looks like the Cubs made a bad bet.
“We spent a lot of time on that. We knew the velocity was trending down,” Hoyer said. “We obviously talked through that extensively. Given the market, given the asking price and given all those different things, we felt like it was a good bet to make. Ultimately, he came off the mound last night, and right now, it’s not looking like a good bet.
“That’s our job to make bets on these things. Doesn’t mean he’s not going to help us the rest of the year. We’re still waiting on the medical stuff.”
Cubs’ Andrew Kittredge Pummeled
Making matters worse is the fact that the Cubs’ other big acquisition was relief pitcher Andrew Kittredge from the Orioles. Kittredge made two scoreless appearances in Chicago before coming on for the Cubs on Tuesday and imploding, allowing four hits and four runs to help the Cubs waste a gem from Shota Imanaga (6.0 innings, three hits, one run, seven strikeouts).
The Cubs have lost three of their last four games to fall 4.0 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, but at 65-48 are still holding the top spot for the NL wild-card race.
