The Cubs have acquired right-hander Michael Soroka in a trade with the Nationals, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports. Washington will receive prospects Ronny Cruz and Christian Franklin in return, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
Chicago has been tied to several starters and relievers during a wide-ranging search for pitching, and Soroka was an obvious trade candidate as an impending free agent on a non-contending Nats team. Because Soroka pitched so effectively in a relief role with the White Sox last season, the Cubs could potentially use him in the pen again down the stretch, depending on either how much the team trusts Soroka’s work with Washington, or what other rotation help might be heading to Wrigleyville between now and tomorrow’s 5pm CT deadline.
Soroka signed a one-year, $9MM free agent deal with the Nationals last winter, and his career-long battles with injury continued when a biceps strain cost him about five weeks of action early in the season. The issue fortunately turned out to be relatively minor, and Soroka has delivered a 4.87 ERA, 25.4% strikeout rate, and 7% walk rate across 81 1/3 innings and 16 starts in 2025.
Both the K% and BB% are well above the league average, as is Soroka’s 6.4% barrel rate, which speaks to how his performance isn’t exactly matching his bottom-line results — Soroka’s 3.60 SIERA is over a run lower than his real-world ERA. He is averaging only 93.5mph on his fastball, and his velocity has been dropping as the season has gone on, which could reflect some fatigue for Soroka as he hasn’t pitched this many innings since his 2019 rookie season.
An All-Star with the Braves during that breakout 2019 campaign, Soroka barely pitched during the 2020-23 seasons due to two achilles tendon surgeries and a variety of arm issues. He was able to post a 4.74 ERA over 79 2/3 innings with the White Sox last year, but as noted, was far better as a reliever (2.75 ERA in 36 IP) than as a starter (6.39 ERA in 43 2/3 IP). If it hadn’t been for an ill-timed shoulder strain last July, the White Sox surely would’ve sent Soroka elsewhere at last year’s deadline.
For now, Soroka will step into a Cubs rotation that should be getting Jameson Taillon back from the IL relatively soon, plus Javier Assad has started a minor league rehab assignment after missing the entire year to oblique injuries. Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and Matthew Boyd have rotation jobs locked up, and so Colin Rea, Cade Horton, and Soroka could be battling for the final three slots once everyone is healthy. This mix could be shaken up once more by further pitching moves, whether in the form of another starter or a more clear-cut relief option that deepens the pen.
With no mention yet of any money changing hands in the deal, it would appear that the Cubs are covering the approximately $3MM remaining on Soroka’s contract. RosterResource estimates Chicago’s tax number at around $220.5MM, leaving the team with plenty of space to add further salaries before hitting the $241MM luxury tax threshold. Upgrading the roster and staying under the tax line would be the best of both worlds for ownership and the front office, yet an argument can obviously be made that exceeding the threshold for a second straight year is a relatively small price to pay to bolster a team battling for a division crown.
In exchange for a rental player, the Nationals will add a pair of prospects ranked by MLB Pipeline as the 13th (Cruz) and 14th (Franklin) best minor leaguers in Chicago’s deep system. It’s not a bad haul for a rental player, providing Washington with a decent return on its one-year investment in Soroka.
Cruz was a third-round pick for the Cubs in the 2024 draft, and his first pro season has seen the 18-year-old infielder hit .270/.314/.431 over 189 plate appearances for the Cubs’ rookie ball affiliate. He has spent most of his year at shortstop and some evaluators feel he should be able to stick at the position, though Cruz has also played some second and third base this year. Pipeline’s scouting report feels center field could be his “Plan B” position, given Cruz’s athleticism and strong throwing arm. Cruz’s overall hitting ability has some question marks, but he already has plus raw power that could develop as he gets old.
Baseball America had Cruz 17th on their list of Cubs prospects but Franklin wasn’t included at all. This could speak to some of the holes in Franklin’s hitting approach that even Pipeline’s scouting report acknowledges. Franklin is okay in all facets of the game without a clear plus tool apart from his throwing arm, which could hint at a future in right field though he has played mostly center field with Triple-A Iowa.
If Cruz is more of a long-term project, Franklin could potentially be making his MLB debut as early as this season, after hitting .265/.393/.427 over 390 PA with Iowa in 2025. This marked Franklin’s first taste of Triple-A action in a pro career that began in 2021 as a fourth-round draft pick.
Brave of them after his last start.
Imagine caring about one start lol
Imagine this being their only pitching acquisition.
Imagine not thinking he’s good
that is taking a lot of faith in their SP. This may be more of a thumbs up for horton. I assume they will manage boyd and imaga to be the 1-2 in the post season, and Horton would be the logical 3. So if they are going for inning eater type, it may just be to go to a 6 man for the stretch run to have innings left in the take for the playoffs from those guys…. or maybe to bump brown until he figures it out (last start not withstanding, he has been a bit of a mess this year)
Cubs fans are so fragile
Yep. And they may get another one as well. Horton and Boyd have to be watched closely now. Boyd hasn’t pitched this many innings since 2019 and Horton never has. Brown is a crapshoot and Assad hasn’t pitched all year. And who knows which Taillon will show up when he’s back. Get one more, Jed.
They are peak fragile, honestly.
Nobody in Washington has to imagine it.
Imagine being dumb enough to think that he’s even “okay”. The move sucks. Just stop and accept it.
Cubs fans actually have a reputation for being the most easygoing fans in baseball.
Imagine imagining
Cool story dude
the guys you listed are nearing return (assad and taillion), add Imaga to the list, and it sounds like there may be a 6 man rotation to solve the innings issue.
Except for the anxiety and depression that only winning once every 118 yrs brings on.
Maybe if you Imagine it’s 2019.
Imagine there’s no Heaven,
It’s easy if you try.
Isn’t it essentially unanimous Soroka is a big league talent/arm, so not a “bad add” but it does perhaps seem they overpaid, with what chi gave up they seemingly could’ve thrown in another lotto ticket and had the Nats throw in one of their relievers, of course I’m not sure entirely who the Nats still have available
Why think about what’s not the Truth….
Imagine calling Cubs fans easygoing and making Steve Bartman fear for his life and is still in hiding 20 years later because Moises Alou cried about a ball he couldn’t catch
I thought it was every knee shall bow every tongue confess
Imagine imagining imagining
We’re tender
Sacrilegious!!!!
Imagine all the people living life in peace
Imagine there’s no heaven.
Imagine there’s no countries.
It isn’t hard to do.
Imagine imagining.
Imagine Dragons
Imagine there were no Cubs fans
I wonder if you can,
Nobody to trade for
And no beer in a can..
Imagine no more “W’s”,
And going on a slide
Imagine all the people
Rooting for the south side.
You may say I’m a dreamer,
But I’m not the only one.
30 Teams that wants a trophy,
But there is only the one!
HAPPY TRADE DEADLINE EVERYBODY!!
But Wrigley Field is a great experience
Hhmm, I’m not entirely sure how to respond..
Brave of them after his last start? I haven’t been following his starts super closely but his last start doesn’t look too terrible. 2 ER through 3.1 innings with no walks. Probably got pulled early due to the deadline.
Hopefully this is their “depth” add, and they add a better rotation piece, a couple bullpen arms, either Suarez or a decent bench bat.
For a contending team, they sure need a lot!!!
The Cubs have the second best record in baseball. Keep yer shirt on.
Kinda sounds like the dream deadline for jays as well.
its 100% a depth add. like, even if they cant swing another trade, they’re not out of the market on anyone because of Soroka
no report on who they gave up, but would be shocked if it is more than a FV40 type (and that may be rich for him)
A couple mid-tier prospects. Seems reasonable.
replying to myself- i think the nats got more than i would have thought- they got 2 guys of that ilk. I like Cruz more as a lottery ticket with a lot to dream on, Franklin just feels like org depth long term (4th OF that gets maybe 300 ab when guys are hurt)
Jesus bro, just go get a whole new team at this point!!!
Lost their best starter for the year and everyone, brewers aside could use bullpen arms. This is why you stack up the farm system.
Michael Soroka is the appetizer that accompanies the MacKenzie Gore entrée. 🙂
Yes, please. But probably not…
Cubs don’t need to sell the farm for another LH starter with control issues. Pass
Merill Kelly
Eugenio Suarez
Raisel Iglesias
Dennis Santana
They gave up last year’s third round pick out of high school, and a depth center fielder who was going to be repeating AAA next year. Not exactly “selling the farm.”
Soroka really should be going to the pen now. He’s had trouble maintaining his stuff through the 5th inning all year and it’s ticking down now as the season progresses.
Less than great.
Good peripherals. Could be good with a better defense behind him. Hope they didn’t give up much.
4.12 FIP and good K/BB rate.
that right there is a good 4th starter- something they need right now behind imaga, boyd and horton…. brown has not rounded out yet and Taillon on his way back. If they think Brown has shown enough signs of life (his last start was solid), then it could be a 6 man rotation since aside from imaga they are going to blow past the number of innings yo would want from those guys (i would suspect youwant basically all of them in the 140-160 IP range for the year, and you likely want 20 of them for the playoffs)
You knew the Cubbies were going to get some pitcher.
Amazing how the Brewers and Cubs get the trade deadline and where they are in the standings.
This is such a Jed move. If you haven’t been good in 3 years, Hoyer will find you.
Well Soroka has been pretty good this year, just playing with a bad defense behind him. Peripherals and statcast like him.
14 hit batters and 24 walks seems very strange.
He throws a ton of 4 seam FBs with armside break so my hypothesis would be a lot of hit RHHs but I’m not sure if that’s accurate.
Oh boy, here comes Jed…
He better have another move in his back pocket. This better not be it…
Multiple moves. This isnt even where I thought he’d go for depth…
There are almost certainly multiple more moves to come.
I don’t know about multiple moves. I mean Franklin is a good kid but has no future with the Cubs so good or him and as for Cruz the Cubs have 15 SS’s in the system. The return isn’t awesome and it’s just a guess on my part but I think since Soroka fails after the 5th inning he just slides into Flexen’s place for now. I don’t hate it but think it’s meh.
If Flexen had worked out, I don’t know that the Cubs would’ve made this trade.
THIS is why you don’t extend Jed at the trade deadline. Here come the bums.
Jed was extended because his boss likes how he minds the budget. The record this year is a lesser reason
I think Soroka is a sneaky bullpen add and insurance for the rotation.
He’s a starter.
Doubt he’s going to be a rotation piece. He’s likely going to be a long reliever
Can easily be converted for long relief.
Starter
He was a starter with the Nats. I think the Cubs move him to the bullpen. Soroka hasn’t pitched any better than Rea this season, he’d be a five behind Boyd, Imanaga, Taillon and Horton.
I don’t know why they would add to the back of the rotation with Assad potentially returning unless they have Horton on an innings limit and are looking for a few spot starts. Horton had a 1.52 ERA in Julyand looks locked in at the four.
Soroka had a real nice run in the bullpen for the White Sox in ’24, it’s what landed him the starting role in Washington, he pitched some good games but was inconsistent most of the season.
Cubs getting cheap on a front line starter, I had been one who was in the belief that the Cubs needed ace as badly as any team but I like this trade, the Cubs can’t do much better than what they have in place without giving up good prospects, they are a lock for the postseason, they get a good bullpen arm who can start games if needed down the stretch.
Good play by Jed Hoyer, a bat and the Cubs will be good to go.
he has very little time in the bulpen in his career- and been a starter all of this year. he was a very limited multi inning guy last year.
I do not think you are wrong, since a move to the pen normally leads to a 1-2 mph increase in velo (thowing hard since you only need 20 pitches and not 100)- but it has been almost a year since his last time in the pen. So it feels weird to expect him to be more than the multi inning guy in the playoffs (if he even makes a postseason roster)
His ERA as a reliever only with the White Sox last year was 2.75 with well over a K per IP, so you may be right about that. He even had some decent starts with the Nats but the problem there is he couldn’t get past 5 innings. And then there were the games when he couldn’t get past 3 innings. But his fastball seems lively and he throws a decent breaking ball, and his WHIP is 1.13. Still, it’s rather a mystery how to use him successfully. He’s so inconsistent it’s hard to know what you’ll get out of him. But I guess if you are willing to get 4 assured good innings from the guy as a starter, he’ll have some value. Turns 28 in 5 days.
He’s a replacement for Flexen. He is stretched out to give them 4-5 innings if needed (for example in the DH coming up against the Brewers), and he can piggyback behind Horton as they try to keep Horton’s pitch counts low.
Meh.
If this is their only move, it’s not nearly enough to make a difference. I mean they put all their chips on Tucker for one year, so one more major acquisition should happen if they are indeed all in.
Soroka leads the league in batters hit. This move is to terrify the opposition.
Btw, he has hit 14 in 81 innings. Nick Lodolo is 2nd with 11 beanings in 138 ip .
Glass half full
I too am optimistic that Lodolo can lead MLB again.
Surely more to come
Headscratcher for sure, Heck, Houser is on the south side of town that can pitcher circles around Soroka.
Houser’s underlying numbers are worse–not just kind of worse, significantly worse.
but but ERA is the be all end all.
Houser is one of those guys who had a major outlier year a few years ago, but otherwise is a boom or bust 5th starter guy. Teams these days tend to pick the steady 6 innings with an era in the upper 4s vs. the 5th starters who either throw a gem or cannot get out of the 2nd (i miss the days when a lot of teams were running them as 5th starters- but i get wanting the vet who just keeps you in games and eats innings for the boys in the pen)
I expected more from the Cubs at the deadline. The Cards are out but I hope the Cubs do more than this.
they will. I think we see Cassie or Alcantara flipped for cease or another front of the rotation arm. I am guessing they like Soroka over the other ho hum rental arms out there.
At least he won’t cost the Cubs much?
If it’s anything more than Brujan Im going to be disappointed…
A AAA CF who would be third or fourth on the depth chart, and last year’s third round draft pick who is still in the Complex League.
For Owen Caissie, straight up. Oh, the collective gnashing of teeth that would result from that. Please God, NO!
lol, Hoyer would have to move to….Mars, maybe, might be far enough
i could see Caissie straight up for Cease- i am not sure there will be another SP that gets traded that would garner that type of return…. maybe Taj Bradley if the rumors of him being shopped are true (and really since you get a ton of control with Bradley, but for this year only, i think i would want Soroka rest of season than bradley, but it is close since Bradley should find that next gear eventually, i just do not think it will be this year)
Hoyer has stated he won’t be trading Caissie for a rental.
Preller has only once traded to get back a prospect he traded away.
Preller has stated he wants RH MLB bats with power and relief pitching. Cassie is neither of those.
$5 bargain movies at Walmart are awesome sometimes.
He’s bad even for a depth add. Eat innings but lose games he starts not too slick.
wins are a terrible thing to look at- but ERA plus has him at 82 (18% worse than average), but that is fine for a 5th starter with an elite lineup (the cubs are an elite hitting team this year from 1-8, and if either Shaw figures it out at 3rd like the elite prospect he was, or they get a 3b rental, it is a scary lineup)
Not a commentary on his w-l record on bad team. Saying he’s not good period for a club in tight division race.
Fantastic move . I sure hope they traded someone less than Ronnie woo woo for this guy .
Terrible
Jed always gets his guy
This is likely a low-cost posturing move for depth/insurance. It gives Jed leverage with other sellers by showing he doesn’t “need” to trade for another starter. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
or he likes imaga, horton and boyd for the playoffs, and just wants either a multi inning guy or move to a 6 man roation to keep the guys he cares about healthy for the playoffs. This team also needs a 4th OF who can play CF well enough to let PCA have some off days (and spell other guys). Mullins would be a good fit to give PCA, Tucker, and Suzuki a day off a week, and let them DH more often
They have guys to DH. Plenty of them. And Happ hasn’t gone on the IL.
Robert Jr. plays center field well.
How well does he hit at Wrigley?
Probably starts playoff games
He was very good as a reliever last year with the White Sox. Maybe the Cubs are planning to use him in the bullpen?
Depends on what else Jed can pull off. Cubs need 2 arms for the rotation, in my mind, until Taillon and Assad prove healthy. Then they will need to start monitoring innings for Boyd and Horton. I can live with Rea as a 5th/spot starter, but they can’t rely on him to start in the playoffs.
Starter
With his 4.87 era. Not about who can help but who is cheapest, thanks Tommy
Weak move. I was hoping the Cubs would be more aggressive than this.
For the bullpen, I think.
Flexen replacement. Now they need to replace Pressly.
Let’s hope so.
Probably headed to the pen.
Not even mentioned by MLBTR as a trade candidate.
He was #24 on the list published Saturday: mlbtraderumors.com/2025/07/top-50-trade-candidates…
They had him as the #24 potential trade candidate in their article three days ago, but sure, just blame MLBTR for your inability to pay attention.
Everyone is hating on this move, but people will be surprised when he eats innings fairly effectively in Chicago. His underlying numbers say he’s closer to a #3 SP than a long reliever. I don’t think he’s going to be an ace or anything, but I don’t think he craps the bed there.
I want to be this optimistic, but this dude can’t stay healthy, like ever. Yeah his expected is better than actual but man? Hard not to feel deflated, especially after getting beat out on Jhoan Duran. Hopefully this is a pen move and they still pull something long term
If it makes you feel any better, I’m this optimistic from the perspective of someone who isn’t a Cubs fan, so I’m not just trying to twist numbers to fit a narrative or something, it’s my actual opinion. Soroka is a solid, if unspectacular, get… especially for the prospects sent out.
Only needs fo stay healthy for 2 or 3 months
Sneaky good. Almost nobody has been burned worse by the Nats horrible defense as bad as Soroka. Expected ERA of 3.32.
I don’t like the move- mostly because big name relievers are coming off the board and Jed is fishing in the kiddie pool.
But this rings of what Jed indicated a couple wks back, looking for guys whose peripherals indicate they are better than their stat line.
Just really hoping there’s a move for a #2 starter and a big game reliever coming. The Cubs staff seems to be on fumes, could really use a boost.
Next step will be selling Pressly tomorrow morning. Then another reliever add and the starter you want. No bats are coming.
Why?
Aloha!
Aloha my friend. How’s everything? We are doing well in hot & humid MO. Getting old and more irritable with Cub MGMT. went to a AAA game in Iowa, enjoyed it. Also to A game in Myrtle Beach, really enjoy the youth filtering in. Shaw is finally getting it. Really missed Amaya this year, he’s back.
Aloha Jiggs, have to give Milwaukee credit in how they draft, pick, trade for talent and develop it. Plus their budget is almost half our Cubs and they are in 1st place by 8 games. I know some of the “advantage” is given to smaller market teams in terms of additional picks, not sure if they get more signing bonus money. But our Cubs definitely have to do a better job there, then not trading away strong talent so as to help sustain the team. Maybe like the Braves organization, then extend the strong talent past their arbitration years and a few extra. Well, we’ll see how the rest of the season plays out. Mahalo!
Aloha Jiggs, tough that Tuckers is in a terrible slump but what a good game for Caissie today! Mahalo!
Afternoon my friend. You are 💯 correct, Milwaukee has done everything right. Best team in Badeball.
Aloha Jiggs! I was at this past Thursday’s game in San Francisco. I enjoyed the great pitching duel between Imanaga and Webb. Both went 7 innings, quality starts tie game 3-3. Unfortunately the Giants BP was better as well as their opportune hitting in the 9th to sweep the series. I hope we see more of Caissie starting in Wrigley. Need Amaya and Taillon back too. Mahalo!
Sources say Alcantara is on the way to DC
Nope. Christian Franklin and Ronny Cruz are going to DC
Oops spelled Crow Armstrong wrong!
That would be a train wreck
Perhaps the reason for the trade is because Flexen didn’t work out as hoped.
What a joke.
I agree. The Nationals just traded from an area of weakness, pitching, to get a prospect that plays a position that is one of their strengths. What a joke of an organization.
Christian Franklin and Ronny Cruz to the Nats
Hoyer shows yet again, Theo had all the brains and he just kind of rode his coattails. Hoyer is so bad at this. Year after year his deadline deals are worse than the humidity in August. Days of watching for the big deal, can’t help but feel defeated with this coming across. Lord help us
Eighteen hours left. Buck up.
We lost out on Suarez too. Do t wirry Jed will find some more dumpster trash.
The Cubs are sending Triple-A OF Christian Franklin and 18 year-old INF Ronny Cruz to Washington in the deal for Soroka, sources tell ESPN.
Seems like Hoyer gave up a lot for an ordinary pitcher like Soroka. Though Frankin might be the kind of guy who tends to top out at AAA.
As always, we await developments.
Mid rotation starter isn’t ordinary
Why? He has not been an effective starter since COVID and TJ.
If you believe MLB prospects, this seems like a huge overpay on the Cubs part. Baseball America isn’t as high at all on Cruz/Franklin.
But you never know. Geoff Blum was a nothing deadline addition for the Sox in ‘05, until he became a hero
south side – get lost. Comment on the Cubs, only after your team shows they are capable of winning maybe 60 games. In other words, come back in maybe 5 yrs.
Is this a depth piece or death piece? The guy is 5-21 in the last 4 years.
He played for the worst team in modern history. Of course, his W-L record is bad.
So the return is an 18 year old lottery ticket (3rd rounder out of HS last year- but weird background going from international that fell through to moving stateside to get drafted 2 years later), and basically a 25 year old with enough success in the upper minors to be a 4th OF but not likely much more than that (maybe a .260 15hr 25sb guy if you give him run and it clicks, but more likely plays the OF well and takes competative ab as a 4th guy who can play whole OF)
81ip/14hbp Dumb move
Jed somehow finds a way to get worked in every trade he makes
Not this one. Not Baez Bryant Rizzo all those relievers.
A #13 and #14 for a barely #5 starter that’s a rental?!!!
MLB gives those prospects a 45 grade. Those kinds of prospects are a dime a dozen (figuratively)
Then pair them for a better starter! If this is the only starter we get, it’s crap.
Strong #4 minimum probably weak 3.
14 hit batters in 81 innings, yikes! 😬
Seems like the Cubs have decided to hang onto their top prospects. Can’t blame them for that. They should hold onto their top outfield prospects in case they don’t sign Tucker.
They acquire all of Sororkas runs too?
F for Cubs was what I was ready to say. I mostly watch minor league ball. Sorka though is having a great year. Mid rotation starter. Have to go fair trade. Washington did great though. Would love to get both these prospects into system. Both could be everyday regulars.
A for Washington
C for Chicago
Giving up more then most clubs would have especially for a pitcher who gives up a ton of HR’s Hopefully they see something that Washington pitching staff didn’t see or that the every day fan doesn’t see. I feel like this guy is going to cost us more games then help .
Makes one wonder why not just bring up Jaxson Wiggins that said at least they didn’t do a trade like they did for Q . Hopefully this is a wake up call to the front office to spend more and go out and get a a couple top end 1 or 2 pitcher .
So far look like they are keeping Owen especially because I doubt they will sign Tucker . Tucker is good is he 200-400 million good my opinion which doesn’t mean crap is Hell no. I truthfully think Cam will be a better player . Also Maybe it’s me but Tucker Doesn’t seem to be happy in Chicago and I’m willing to bet he goes back to the Astros and has planned to from the beginning
We can’t know if Tucker is happy or not. He has a kind of apathetic affect, but that might just be his way of presenting “professionalism,” “not getting too high or too low,” that kind of stuff. I have mixed feelings about him, but all in all it feels like the Cubs could spend the money better.
So far the trade deadline winner is Philly
This one just sickens me. Ronny Cruz is a legit young prospect. Christian Franklin is a decent fringe prospect whose close to big league ready. Mike Soroka is a journeyman, swing man, who’s still coasting off his former top prospect status and one good season from which he’s 6 years removed. This is just an awful, awful trade.
Paid almost as much as the mariners for Suarez. Jed the great white dope.
Baseball in the Twilight Zone. While Soroka hasn’t had good “results,” his “expected numbers” are better, so everything is going to be fine. What a mess the analytics extremists have made of our game, which used to be so straightforward and lovely and fair. And how odd it feels to me that I am saying that, because 40 years ago when Bill James first brought the sabermetric approach to baseball, I was an enthusiastic adherent. It was an overdue antidote to the banalities and nostrums of Jack Brickhouse and Jerry Holtzman. I agreed with George Will’s cheeky remark that the Baseball Abstract was “the most significant scientific treatise since Newton’s Principia.” I remember arguing that pitcher wins were an overrated statistic when the idea was new! I didn’t dream that things would ever come to where we are now, when actual success (or failure) on the field would be seen as secondary to abstruse mathematical constructs. Some day, I hope, baseball will return. It was a good sport.
I hear what you’re saying, however I don’t see baseball returning to the past points of references. The current metrics will continue to be tweaked until something new is developed to measure performance, etc.
Of all the 10 or so contenders, the cubs have done the least to help themselves.
obviously jed’s goal is to have all (4) of his outfielders shift between dh and the outfield to see who cah survive the dog days of august and september. Survival of the fittest!