Michael Soroka

Tigers Seeking Starting Pitching, Have “Some Interest” In Flaherty Reunion

By Nick Deeds | December 7, 2024 at 4:05pm CDT

As the Tigers look to build on the scorching finish to the season that delivered them a trip to the ALDS in 2024, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported yesterday that the club is expected to target “at least” one starting pitcher this winter. With that being said, Stavenhagen cautions that the club is hoping to stick with short-term additions who can be had on one- or two-year contracts. Stavenhagen also suggests that the club could be hesitant to land a pitcher who received a Qualifying Offer this winter due to the associated loss of draft capital.

That doesn’t mean the club is completely unwilling to explore higher-tier options, however, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon reported this afternoon that the club has at least “some interest” in a reunion with right-hander Jack Flaherty. The early movement on the free agent market has generally been focused on hurlers who aren’t attached to draft pick compensation, ranging from lefty Blake Snell’s massive five-year deal with the Dodgers to smaller moves like the Angels’ signing of right-hander Kyle Hendricks on a one-year pact. Flaherty, who signed with the Tigers last winter and had a resurgent half-season with Detroit before being traded to L.A. over the summer, is the best pitcher remaining on the market who is unattached to draft pick compensation.

While pairing Flaherty with ace lefty Tarik Skubal at the top of Detroit’s rotation is surely a tantalizing idea to fans and would help fortify the Tigers after their surprise return to contention this fall, it’s also possible that they’ll simply look to sign “the next” Flaherty instead of pursuing a reunion; while Rosenthal suggests Flaherty figures to land a deal in the four-to-six year range, Stavenhagen notes that the club hopes to find a “high-upside” pitcher on the market who they believe they can help maximize as they did with Flaherty this past year rather than pay a premium for more established talent. Right-handers Walker Buehler and Michael Soroka as well as southpaw Andrew Heaney could be among the pitchers of that sort on Detroit’s radar this winter.

Stavenhagen goes as far as to note that Buehler could be the club’s “white whale” this winter, but adds that there’s questions about whether or not he’ll need to accept the sort of short-term deal the Tigers are looking to make this winter. That’s a valid concern, as Buehler has received plenty of interest from all corners of the league with the A’s, Yankees, Cubs, Braves, and Mets among the teams with reported interest in the righty’s services. MLBTR ranked Buehler 37th on our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list last month while predicting a one-year, $15MM pact for the righty. That’s surely a price tag the Tigers would be eager to have him at, but given the widespread interest he’s drawn to this point and the hot market for starting pitching that has seen multiple players exceed expectations it wouldn’t be a shock to see Buehler land a multi-year deal even after posting a subpar 5.38 ERA in 16 regular season starts for the Dodgers this year. If Buehler’s market does end up running that hot, it could be hard to justify targeting him rather than spending a bit more to secure a more reliable asset like Flaherty.

If Buehler proves to be out of Detroit’s price range this winter, Soroka and Heaney represent two opposite sides of the spectrum for free agent starters. Soroka, 27, turned in a dominant rookie season with the Braves back in 2019 en route to an All Star appearance, a second-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting and a sixth-place finish for the NL Cy Young award. Since then, however, he’s struggled to stay on the field with just 46 innings of work combined between the 2020-23 seasons at the big league level. He was shipped from the Braves to the White Sox last winter and managed 79 2/3 innings of work last year while swinging between the rotation and bullpen.

His results were significantly better as a reliever in Chicago but that hasn’t stopped most interested teams from eyeing him as a rotation option this winter. If Soroka can build on the 2.75 ERA and 39% strikeout rate he posted after being bumped from the White Sox rotation back in May, he would be a strong addition to a Tigers pitching staff that has plenty of depth options but little certainty behind Skubal and Reese Olson. Casey Mize, Keider Montero, Jackson Jobe, Matt Manning, and Kenta Maeda are among the hurlers who could be in the mix for starts with the club next year but none have staked a firm claim to a rotation spot, leaving plenty of opportunity for an unproven upside-arm like Soroka to break into the rotation.

Heaney, by contrast, is a fairly well-established veteran arm at this point. The 33-year-old has been a more or less league average starter for the majority of his career at this point, with a 4.45 ERA (96 ERA+) and 4.28 FIP in 851 2/3 innings of work for the Angels, Yankees, Dodgers, and Rangers since the start of the 2018 season. While Heaney flashed some further upside in 2022 when he pitched to a 3.10 ERA (130 ERA+) and 3.75 FIP in 16 appearances (14 starts) for the Dodgers, his subsequent two years with Texas have seen him revert to his solid but unspectacular work as a back-end starter: 307 1/3 innings of work across 66 outings (59 starts) during which he posted a 4.22 ERA (98 ERA+) and 4.34 FIP. While Soroka would be a high-risk, high-reward addition for Detroit, signing Heaney would offer a more stable solution for the club’s rotation who could reliably lessen the workload expected from the club’s other rotation options.

While Stavenhagen only name-checked Buehler, Soroka, and Heaney as potential targets for the Tigers, there are plenty of other arms who could be had on short-term deals this winter. Plenty of fans and media members have speculated on the possibility that the club could look to reunite with either Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer in free agency this year. The two future Hall of Famers established themselves as among the game’s best pitchers in Detroit during the club’s last competitive window, and betting on one or the other to have something left in the tank in the twilight of their careers could be exactly the sort of short-term, high-upside gamble that Stavenhagen suggests president of baseball operations Scott Harris and his front office are searching for. Alex Cobb, Jose Quintana, and Kyle Gibson are among the other veteran starting pitching options expected to sign shorter-term deals this winter who could be plausible fits for the Tigers.

Michael Soroka Drawing More Interest As Starter Than Reliever

By Steve Adams | December 4, 2024 at 1:39pm CDT

Michael Soroka lost his spot in the lowly White Sox rotation in mid-May after posting a 6.39 ERA in nine starts. He was moved to the bullpen and proceeded to go on an absolute tear, prompting some thought that he could draw a surprisingly strong contract in free agency as a reliever this winter. While some clubs have indeed expressed interest in Soroka as a bullpen option, he’s drawn more interest as a starting pitcher through the early stages of the offseason, according to Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The Mets are among the teams with interest, per the report, which adds that the only teams viewing Soroka as a reliever are those that already have largely full rotations. Few clubs can make that claim, though perhaps the Mariners, Rays, Phillies or Astros could view Soroka as a bullpen option (speaking from a purely speculative standpoint).

Those who didn’t closely follow Soroka’s season may not find the notion of him returning to a starting role all that surprising or interesting. He has, after all, worked primarily as a starter throughout his professional career. Prior to a staggeringly unfortunate run of injuries in Atlanta, the former top prospect looked to be emerging as a high-end rotation piece with the Braves. From 2018-19, he pitched 200 1/3 innings with a 2.79 ERA, 20% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

Since that time, Soroka has had a pair of Achilles tendon tears and three separate IL stints related to shoulder issues — including a strain that sidelined him for two months this past season. He’s pitched only 125 2/3 innings over the past five seasons. That lack of durability is another reason to consider him for a relief role, but Soroka did toss 87 2/3 innings this past season, creating at least some optimism that maybe he could hold up better than in prior years.

The broader reason for his appeal in the bullpen was simply the manner in which he performed there in 2024, however. Soroka had only three professional relief appearances heading into 2024. He made 16 relief appearances for the South Siders this past season, and the results were eye-popping. As I wrote on our Top 50 Free Agent list back in early November:

Beginning with a four-inning long relief showing at Yankee Stadium, Soroka punched out seven batters. He went on to fan 15 in 9 1/3 frames over his first three relief outings. From May 18 through season’s end, Soroka pitched to a 2.75 ERA and struck out a gargantuan 39% of his opponents. That includes a two-month absence due to a shoulder strain, but Soroka returned in late September averaging an improved 94.5 mph on his heater and closed out the season with 7 1/3 shutout innings and a 13-to-2 K/BB ratio.

Soroka still didn’t have good command in relief. He issued a walk to 13% of his opponents. That’s going to give plenty of interested teams pause. Still, few relievers can pile up strikeouts at such an overwhelming level over any kind of prolonged sample. Sixty punchouts in 36 innings is tough to overlook.

That said, it’s understandable if teams are dreaming on sustaining some of that production and stretching it out over a larger role. Soroka is still only 27 and won’t turn 28 until next August. He’s considerably younger than the standard free agent — particularly relative to starting pitchers. It’s also been a bull market for starters in the early stages of free agency, with Matthew Boyd and Frankie Montas in particular exceeding most expectations with the contracts they signed. Montas posted a 4.84 ERA with an exactly league-average 22.6% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate in 150 2/3 innings. He still commanded two years and $34MM with an opt-out. Plus velocity and a late-season strikeout surge notwithstanding, it was a notable contract for a pitcher coming off a decidedly pedestrian season.

Given the strong early market for starters, some clubs might be inclined to put forth a lower-AAV offer to Soroka in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle for their starting staff, knowing the bullpen route is there as a fallback option. The Mets are apparently included in that bunch, and Soroka seems to fit the mold of pitcher that president of baseball operations David Stearns has targeted since joining the Mets: a formerly high-profile arm with some recently demonstrated upside who’s (presumably) available on a short-term deal.

White Sox Release Chad Kuhl

By Nick Deeds | September 24, 2024 at 2:55pm CDT

September 24: Kuhl has cleared waivers and been released, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times on X.

September 21: The White Sox announced a series of roster moves this afternoon headlined by the club designating right-hander Chad Kuhl for assignment. Kuhl’s departure from the roster makes room for the return of right-hander Michael Soroka, who Chicago activated from the 15-day injured list and reinstated to the active roster. Right-hander Jordan Leasure was also activated from the IL, but was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte and will not be rejoining the club’s active roster.

Kuhl, 32, signed a minor league deal with the White Sox back in January but did not get the call to the majors until mid-June. He joined the club’s bullpen as a multi-inning relief option and performed fairly well in the role early on, with a 3.69 ERA and 4.08 FIP in 31 2/3 innings of work through the end of July. He moved to a short relief role following the trade deadline, however, and hasn’t acclimated to the new role well with a 7.06 ERA in 21 2/3 innings of work despite fairly solid peripheral numbers during that time, including a 4.14 FIP that was only a few points higher than his successful first half of the year and a strong 26.7% strikeout rate.

Overall, the right-hander has pitched to a lackluster 5.06 ERA that’s 18% worse than league average by measure of ERA+ despite a solid 4.11 FIP. Those lackluster results are more or less par for the course relative to Kuhl’s career, as his career 4.98 ERA and 86 ERA+ aren’t too dissimilar from his production in 2024. Where there’s room for optimism, however, is in his peripherals. That aforementioned 4.11 FIP is actually the best Kuhl has posted in a season since his rookie campaign back in 2016 with the Pirates, while this year’s 22.5% strikeout rate and 44.4% groundball rate are both career-bests for the veteran of 8 big league seasons.

It seems as though the biggest culprit for Kuhl’s struggles this year is his inflated .340 BABIP allowed, a stat that perhaps isn’t surprising given that the White Sox are the worst team in the majors by Defensive Runs Saved and second from the bottom by measure of Outs Above Average. Given those solid peripherals and his experience both starting and pitching in relief, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Kuhl enter free agency this offseason as somewhat attractive depth option for pitching-needy clubs, particularly if he’s once again willing to accept a minor league deal. In the meantime, Chicago will have one week to try and pass Kuhl through waivers, though the right-hander would have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency and he’d still be slated to reach free agency this November even if he accepted the outright.

Replacing Kuhl on the roster is Soroka, who was acquired from the Braves last offseason. Soroka’s 72 1/3 innings of work this year are the most he’s pitched in a season since 2019, when he finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting and sixth in NL Cy Young award voting with an excellent 2.68 ERA and 3.45 FIP in 29 starts for Atlanta. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed the right-hander ever since, and his return to action this year left much to be desired as he posted a lackluster 5.23 ERA with a 5.41 FIP across 22 appearances, including nine starts. Soroka’s numbers improved after he was moved out of the rotation, however, as he pitched to a 3.45 ERA with a 3.34 FIP in 28 2/3 relief innings thanks to an excellent 36.7% strikeout rate out of the bullpen. Those solid numbers in a relief role were cut short by a shoulder strain just before the All-Star break, but nonetheless offer reason for optimism as the righty heads to free agency for the first time in his career this winter.

AL Central Notes: Baez, Gray, Correa, Twins, Moncada, Soroka

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2024 at 2:55pm CDT

The Tigers placed shortstop Javier Baez on the 10-day injured list yesterday, calling up Ryan Kriedler from Triple-A to fill the void in the infield. It is the second time this season that Baez has been sent to the IL due to lumbar inflammation, though this latest placement also involves inflammation in his right hip. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press) that “we haven’t gotten the full diagnosis” on Baez’s injuries yet, but the team should shortly “know a little bit more about what the next month looks like and what, if any, baseball activity he’ll be able to do.”

That doesn’t sound like it bodes well for Baez’s chances of returning in 2024, as the Tigers have only the faintest hopes of a wild card berth and might just choose to shut Baez down to get him ready for next year. While injuries have contributed to Baez’s struggles this season, his .184/.221/.294 slash line over 289 plate appearances marks the third straight disastrous year for Baez since coming to Detroit on a six-year, $140MM free agent deal in the 2021-22 offseason. With $73MM still owed to Baez over the 2025-27 seasons, the contract is already an albatross, and it remains to be seen exactly how much longer the Tigers still stick with Baez as a regular part of their lineup (or whether they could release him altogether).

AL Notes: Soroka, Harvey, McCullers, Pederson

By Mark Polishuk | July 14, 2024 at 11:17pm CDT

Michael Soroka only three pitches in today’s outing before leaving with what the White Sox announced as right shoulder soreness. More will be known once Soroka undergoes testing, though shoulder inflammation brought an early end to both his 2022 and 2023 seasons, and he had other shoulder issues in his first two Major League seasons in 2018-19. Beyond these shoulder problems, Soroka missed almost the entirety of the 2020-22 seasons due to a pair of torn Achilles tendons, but he returned to the Show to pitch 32 1/3 innings of 6.40 ERA ball with the Braves last year.

Atlanta then shipped Soroka and four other players to Chicago in the Aaron Bummer trade last November, and Soroka’s first season with the Sox has been a struggle, as he has a 5.25 ERA over 72 innings and he lost his rotation job in May. Soroka’s 3.49 ERA as a reliever is a big step up from his 6.39 ERA as a starter, though this latest shoulder injury could bring another unwelcome wrinkle to his career. It could also impact Chicago’s trade deadline plans, as an impending free agent like Soroka is an obvious trade candidate, and a healthy multi-inning reliever would appeal to several teams.

More from around the American League as we head into the All-Star break…

The Royals started their deadline moves with a bang on Saturday, acquiring Hunter Harvey from the Nationals for third base prospect Cayden Wallace and Kansas City’s Competitive Balance Round A pick in this year’s draft. (Washington used the 39th overall pick on Cal catcher Caleb Lomavita.) “What we came to realize is if you’re going to acquire a quality relief pitcher with years of control, it’s not going to be a comfortable trade to make. You’re going to have to give up something to get something,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters. K.C. was known to be looking for bullpen help, and Harvey brings “great depth” to the relief corps, though Picollo said the team was “happy with” James McArthur’s work as closer. “The depth was the focus for us and having more options at the back end of the game,” Picollo said.
Astros GM Dana Brown provided an update on Lance McCullers Jr. during a pregame radio appearance today (hat tip to Chandler Rome of The Athletic). McCullers’ rehab from flexor surgery was halted earlier this week due to some soreness in his right arm, and Brown said “we just have to let time heal and we can’t push him.” A return by September to work as a reliever is a possibility, Brown said, which is itself notable since McCullers has started 127 of his 130 career big league games. A variety of injuries have cost McCullers the entirety of both the 2019 and 2023 seasons, and limited him to 265 innings over the 2020-22 campaigns. The exact nature of McCullers’ latest issue isn’t known, but Brown somewhat ominously said that the righty had gotten “his second opinion” about the setback.
The Blue Jays were known to be pushing to sign Joc Pederson last winter, before Pederson landed with the Diamondbacks on a one-year deal worth $12.5MM in guaranteed money. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith recently spoke with Pederson about his offseason talks with Toronto, and Pederson said he had a FaceTime conversation with GM Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider that seemed to go well, though negotiations didn’t progress much further. “They just I guess didn’t want me as bad as some other teams and weren’t able to really put together an offer when it was time for me to make a decision….From the conversations we had on the phone and how interested they were in adding a left-handed bat, their actions didn’t match their words, I guess you could say,” Pederson said. “They said everything went really well and then didn’t want to offer what other teams did.” The veteran slugger didn’t have any displeasure with how things worked out, and even left the door open to potentially play for the Jays in the future. Pederson is having an excellent season as a righty-mashing DH in Arizona, hitting .273/.374/.498 with 13 homers over 277 plate appearances with the D’Backs.

White Sox Move Michael Soroka To Bullpen

By Darragh McDonald | May 14, 2024 at 8:03pm CDT

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol told members of the club’s beat today that right-handers Michael Soroka and Brad Keller will be swapping places, with Soroka moving to the bullpen and Keller taking over his rotation spot. Soroka will stay stretched out and work multiple innings. James Fegan of Sox Machine was among those to pass along the information on X.

Soroka, 26, was one of five players that the Sox acquired from Atlanta in the November trade that sent Aaron Bummer the other way. Chicago gave Soroka a rotation spot but the results have been quite poor so far. Through nine starts and 43 2/3 innings, he has a 6.39 earned run average, which is the worst mark among qualified pitchers in the majors this year.

That performance is backed up by uninspiring peripherals. His 46.9% ground ball is good but he has equal strikeout and walk totals of 24. That means he has a 12.4% rate of both punchouts and free passes, both of which are well worse than league average.

It was understandable why the Sox were willing to give Soroka a shot. They started gutting their rotation at last year’s deadline by trading away Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn. They didn’t flip Dylan Cease until March but it was clear that he was going to be out the door at some point as well. In March, it was reported that Michael Kopech was moving to the bullpen, though private discussions about that decision must have taken place prior to that.

There were plenty of holes to fill in the rotation and Soroka had been a dominant starter in the past. With Atlanta in 2019, he made 29 starts with a 2.68 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 51.2% ground ball rate. But he then tore his achilles tendon twice in nine months and hasn’t seemed like the same pitcher since. He didn’t pitch in the majors in 2021 or 2022 and then had a 6.40 ERA with Atlanta last year.

The Sox were undoubtedly hoping for a bounceback with a bit more remove from his injury absence. Soroka is an impending free agent, so any kind of step forward could have turned him into an interesting trade candidate this summer. But as mentioned, it hasn’t played out that way so far.

His continued struggles will get him pushed to the bullpen, though there’s a path to returning to the rotation, like Chris Flexen.. “He’s got some adjustments to make that we feel can really help him,” Grifol said, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “We did the same thing with Flexen. He pitched out of the bullpen, he threw a couple times, threw the ball great. Now he’s in the rotation.”

Flexen allowed 13 earned runs over his first three starts this year but then got bumped to the ’pen. He then threw four scoreless innings in his first relief outing and allowed just one run over 2 1/3. Since then, he has made three starts with just three earned run allowed in 16 innings.

Soroka could follow a similar path by improving his results, though another opportunity could also arise due to factors outside of his control. Pitchers injuries are common and the Sox could need Soroka in the rotation again if one is suffered by one of their starters.

It’s also possible that midseason trades will open spots in the months to come. Keller, Flexen and Clevinger are impending free agents and should be available. Erick Fedde is a possibility to go as well, given that he is on a two-year deal and putting up good numbers. Garrett Crochet is controllable through 2026, which makes him less obvious as a trade possibility, but it’s not impossible to imagine the Sox selling high on a guy who has missed a lot of time. Even if Crochet isn’t traded, he could hit a workload limit at some point since he’s thrown so little in the past.

For now, Clevinger, Fedde, Crochet and Flexen will be joined by Keller. He’s made four appearances for the Sox this year, including one start, with a 2.84 ERA. His 16.4% strikeout rate in that small sample isn’t very strong but he’s getting grounders at a 56.1% rate.

He’s had some previous success with that kind of shape. With the Royals from 2018 to 2020, he tossed 360 1/3 innings with a 3.50 ERA, 16.8% strikeout rate and 52.1% ground ball rate. But over the next three years, his ERA was at 5.14. His strikeout and ground ball rates held fairly steady over those spans, but his walk rate jump from 9.1% in the first one to 11.5% in the second.

He underwent surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome late last year but seems to be back to his old self so far, at least in terms of making hitters pound the ball into the ground. The Sox will roll with him for a while Soroka tries to get his house in order and retake a rotation spot down the line.

White Sox Making Changes In Rotation

By Steve Adams | May 1, 2024 at 9:50pm CDT

The 6-25 White Sox are shuffling up their rotation mix a bit. Manager Pedro Grifol told the Sox beat yesterday that right-hander Brad Keller would likely move into the rotation in the near future (X link via Scott Merkin of MLB.com), and he’s now listed as the probable starter Friday. Meanwhile, right-hander Mike Clevinger has made a pair of starts in Triple-A Charlotte since returning on a one-year deal and is likely to join the rotation next week, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Right-hander Erick Fedde has been Chicago’s only above-average starter this season. Lefty Garrett Crochet started brilliantly but has been hit hard of late, ballooning his ERA to just under 6.00. Michael Soroka, Jonathan Cannon, Chris Flexen and Nick Nastrini have all made multiple starts but all came into today with an ERA north of 6.00. Flexen allowed just two earned runs over five innings today, lowering his ERA to 4.85. The Sox have combined for a 5.52 ERA out of the rotation, ranking 29th in the big leagues — ahead of only the Rockies. White Sox starters have averaged an MLB-worst 1.61 homers per nine frames.

Keller, 28, is a longtime division foe for the Sox, having spent his entire big league career prior to this season with the Royals. From 2018-20, Keller emerged as a steadying presence for Kansas City, going from a Rule 5 long reliever to a core member of the rotation. He pitched 360 1/3 frames of 3.50 ERA ball during that stretch, but his career went the opposite direction in three subsequent seasons.

From 2021-23, Keller was tagged for a 5.14 ERA as his command took a noticeable turn for the worse. He was limited to just 45 1/3 innings in 2023, logging a 4.57 ERA but issuing an alarming 45 walks along the way. Keller’s season ended early due to thoracic outlet symptoms. He inked a minor league deal with the ChiSox during the offseason and has made one scoreless relief appearance (1 2/3 innings) in addition to three starts at the Triple-A level, where he turned in a 4.50 ERA in 16 innings and piled up grounders at a huge 62.5% clip.

Clevinger will be entering his second season with the Sox. He started 24 games for the South Siders last year and notched a 3.77 ERA with a 20% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 30.9% ground-ball rate. Despite a solid season on the mound, Clevinger lingered in free agency and ultimately settled on a one-year, $3MM deal to return to the White Sox. He signed late enough that he required the current Triple-A tune-up before joining the big league rotation.

It’s not immediately clear who’ll lose their spot. Nastrini and Cannon have both already been optioned to Triple-A. Soroka and Flexen are veteran stopgaps who are only signed for the current season. Flexen has struggled mightily in the rotation and fared better in a pair of bullpen appearances, but as mentioned, he had a nice performance in today’s series finale against the Twins. Soroka has completed five innings in just three of his seven starts. Crochet’s workload figures to be monitored after he pitched just 24 1/3 frames last year in his return from 2022 Tommy John surgery. He’s never topped 54 1/3 innings in a professional season since being selected in the first round of the 2020 draft.

Braves Acquire Aaron Bummer In Six-Player Deal

By Anthony Franco | November 16, 2023 at 11:55pm CDT

The Braves announced the acquisition of reliever Aaron Bummer from the White Sox for a five-player package. Chicago acquires starters Michael Soroka and Jared Shuster, middle infielders Nicky Lopez and Braden Shewmake and minor league righty Riley Gowens. All but Gowens occupy spots on their teams’ 40-man rosters.

Bummer, a 30-year-old southpaw, had spent his entire career with the ChiSox. He developed from an unheralded 19th-round selection into one of the game’s more quietly excellent setup men. Bummer broke through in 2019, when he turned in a 2.13 ERA over 67 2/3 innings on the back of an eye-popping 72.1% grounder percentage.

The following February, Chicago signed Bummer to a long-term extension. Various injuries impacted him between 2020-22, as he spent time on the shelf with biceps and lat issues in his throwing arm and a right knee strain. Bummer remained effective when healthy, turning in a 2.92 ERA over that stretch.

That strong run prevention mark collapsed this past season. Bummer was tagged for nearly seven earned runs per nine over 58 1/3 innings. Among pitchers with 50+ frames, only 12 had a higher ERA than his 6.79 mark. While that’ll make this a head-scratching move for many Atlanta fans, it’s clear the front office is placing a lot more stock in Bummer’s promising underlying indicators.

Bummer struck out an above-average 29.2% of batters faced this year. He has fanned just under 27% of opponents over the course of his career. He averaged 94.5 MPH on his sinker (a solid mark for a left-hander) and missed bats against hitters of either handedness. While he’s no longer posting ground-ball numbers reminiscent of peak Zach Britton, he kept the ball on the ground at a lofty 58.2% clip. That’s the 10th-highest rate among relievers who logged at least 50 innings.

Certainly, Bummer isn’t a flawless pitcher. While he tends to keep the ball down, he gives up a fair amount of hard contact. He has well below-average control and walked over 13% of opposing hitters this past season. While an elevated batting average on balls in play was a big reason for his disappointing ’23 campaign, he didn’t do himself many favors by handing out so many free passes.

The Braves clearly feel Bummer’s results will more closely match those he managed before this year. He joins A.J. Minter and Tyler Matzek as potential high-leverage options from the left side. Pierce Johnson and Joe Jiménez are mid-late inning righties to help bridge the gap to closer Raisel Iglesias.

If Bummer returns to form, he could be a longer-term bullpen piece. He’ll make $5.5MM next season in the final guaranteed year of the aforementioned extension. He is guaranteed a $1.25MM buyout on a $7.25MM club option for 2025, while the deal also contains a $7.5MM team option (with a $1.25MM buyout) for the ’26 season.

It’s a consolidation trade for a win-now Atlanta team that can afford to target specific players it considers finishing touches to a championship-caliber roster. The White Sox are in the opposite position. Fresh off a 101-loss season, first-year general manager Chris Getz has set out to add depth to a team that has become far too top-heavy.

Trading a reliever for five players — four of whom are MLB options — is one way of doing so. While none of the four big leaguers is near the peak of their trade value, it’s easy to envision any of them playing a role on the 2024 White Sox from day one.

Soroka may be the most recognizable name. A former first-round pick and top prospect, he earned an All-Star nod and runner-up finish in NL Rookie of the Year balloting in 2019. Soroka had pitched to a 2.68 ERA over 29 starts in his age-21 season. He looked like one of the sport’s brightest young pitching talents before his career was sidetracked by horrible injury luck.

The right-hander sustained successive tears of his right Achilles tendon nine months apart in 2020 and ’21. The injuries cost him almost two full seasons. While he returned to the mound in 2023, he struggled to a 6.40 ERA over seven big league outings. Soroka had quite a bit more success in Triple-A. Over 17 starts with their top affiliate in Gwinnett, he pitched to a 3.41 ERA with an above-average 25.9% strikeout rate. Forearm inflammation ended his season in September but is not expected to require surgery.

Soroka accrued MLB service time throughout his injury rehab. As a result, he has over five years of service and will be a free agent next winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3MM salary in his final season of arbitration. That made him a non-tender candidate for Atlanta, particularly since he can no longer be optioned to the minors. The White Sox are apparently willing to commit something in that range to see if he can recapture mid-rotation or better form.

Chicago has almost nothing in the way of rotation locks beyond Dylan Cease. Soroka now seems likely to get that opportunity. He could be joined by Shuster, a former first-round pick out of Wake Forest. The left-hander secured an Opening Day rotation spot with Atlanta a season ago. He struggled in his first MLB look, allowing a 5.81 ERA with a well below-average 13% strikeout rate over 52 2/3 innings.

Shuster had similarly discouraging numbers in Gwinnett. He was tagged for a 5.01 ERA through 16 starts with the Stripers. He struck out only 17.9% of hitters in Triple-A while walking 12.6% of opponents. While there aren’t many positives in Shuster’s 2023 performance, he’s only a year removed from ranking as one of the top pitchers in the Atlanta system. He’d posted a 3.29 ERA with a strong 26.2% strikeout rate in the minors in 2022, drawing praise for a potential plus changeup along the way.

Still just 25, Shuster could battle for a spot at the back of the Chicago rotation in Spring Training. He still has two option years remaining and has less than one year of MLB service. The Sox will hope he can put his tough debut behind him and reach the back-of-the-rotation projection of many prospect evaluators.

In some ways, Shewmake is a position player analogue of Shuster’s. He’s also a former first-round college draftee who’d generated some fanfare in Atlanta as recently as last spring. The Texas A&M product had a big Spring Training that led to some speculation he could open the season as the Braves’ starting shortstop. Atlanta rolled with veteran Orlando Arcia instead, a move that turned out well.

Not only did Arcia put together an All-Star season, Shewmake had a rough year in the minors. He hit .234/.298/.407 over 526 plate appearances for Gwinnett. He connected on 16 homers but hit only .264 on balls in play, keeping his on-base percentage down.

Scouts have questioned how much offensive upside the lefty-hitting Shewmake brings to the table. He’s soon to turn 26 and has only played two MLB games. Yet he’s a plus runner who went 27 of 28 in stolen base attempts in Triple-A. Shewmake can play either middle infield spot and has a pair of minor league options.

Adding middle infield talent was a necessity for Getz and his staff. The Sox had almost nothing at second base, relying on Lenyn Sosa and Romy González there. After buying out Tim Anderson, they were even lighter at shortstop. Shewmake could battle for a job, while Lopez seems likely to step into an everyday role at one of those positions.

The Sox are plenty familiar with Lopez from his days with the Royals. The 28-year-old has received elite grades for his defense at both middle infield spots and in more limited time at third base. It’s an all-glove profile, as Lopez has bottom-of-the-scale power. He’s a .228/.297/.284 hitter in 742 plate appearances over the past two seasons.

Lopez has between four and five years of service and is projected for a $3.9MM arbitration salary. That felt like a luxury for an Atlanta team that relies on Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Arcia and Austin Riley almost every day. It’s a more palatable sum for a team that’ll use Lopez as a bottom-of-the-lineup regular — as the Sox now seem positioned to do.

Rounding out the return is Gowens, a 24-year-old righty who was selected in the ninth round of this past summer’s draft. He pitched to a 6.30 ERA but struck out almost 28% of opponents over 12 starts during his junior year at Illinois. Baseball America praised the life on his fastball in his draft report, suggesting he could project as a reliever in pro ball.

It’s an unexpected trade made possible by the discrepancy in the organizations’ depth. Atlanta could afford to package some players who had fallen towards the back of the roster for a reliever with upside but legitimate question marks. Chicago buys low on a handful of players at positions of need, hoping that one or two can click and provide more value than they would have received out of Bummer.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Braves Select Jackson Stephens

By Steve Adams | September 11, 2023 at 10:05am CDT

The Braves announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Jackson Stephens from Triple-A Gwinnett and optioned righty Allan Winans in his place. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, injured right-hander Michael Soroka was transferred to the 60-day IL. Soroka was recently shut down for the season due to forearm inflammation.

Stephens, 29, will get a second big league look with Atlanta after spending the bulk of the 2022 season in their bullpen. He tossed 53 2/3 innings off 3.69 ERA ball last year, striking out 20% of his opponents against a 9.8% walk rate with a 46.3% ground-ball rate. He had a lengthy stay on the minor league injured list this season but has been sharp both in rehab work in the low minors and more recently in Triple-A, where Stephens has pitched 24 2/3 frames with a 3.28 earned run average, 26% strikeout rate and outstanding 4% walk rate.

This will be the fourth season in which Stephens, a former 18th-round pick of the Reds (2012), logs major league time. He’s totaled 117 big league frames between Cincinnati and Atlanta, notching a combined 4.31 ERA in that time. Stephens has been pitching in two- and three-inning stints recently in Gwinnett — some of them starts, some out of the bullpen — so he’ll add some length to the Braves’ bullpen during today’s doubleheader against the Phillies.

It’s quite possible that Kyle Wright will be returning to make his first start since May in the second half of that twin bill, and he’s yet to throw more than 50 pitches or pitch beyond 3 2/3 innings during his rehab stint. As such, there’s all the more reason to call up an arm capable of providing three or perhaps even four innings of relief if needed.

Michael Soroka Shut Down For Season

By Darragh McDonald | September 6, 2023 at 10:02pm CDT

10:02pm: Soroka’s season is over, manager Brian Snitker confirmed to reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Fortunately, imaging didn’t reveal any structural concerns and Soroka will not require surgery. With only a few weeks left in the regular season and Soroka unlikely to crack Atlanta’s playoff rosters regardless, the team will play things cautiously and shut him down.

10:00am: The Braves announced today that they have recalled right-handers Darius Vines and Ben Heller. In corresponding moves, righties Michael Soroka and Collin McHugh have each been placed on the 15-day injured list, Soroka due to right forearm inflammation and McHugh due to right shoulder inflammation.

Soroka started last night’s game for Atlanta but lasted just three innings, allowing five earned runs. Manager Brian Snitker spoke to reporters after the game, including David O’Brien of The Athletic, explaining that Soroka was experiencing numbness in the fingers of his pitching hand. “I think it’s probably a big deal,” Snitker said.

Further testing will surely come, with more information to follow based on that. Whatever the eventual results, it’s yet another frustrating setback for a pitcher who has had more than his fair share. After he made 29 starts in 2019 with a 2.68 earned run average, it seemed like he would be a cornerstone of the club’s rotation for years to come. But he then missed most of the next three seasons due to injuries, with two ruptures of his right Achilles tendon being the main culprit.

This year, he was slowed by a hamstring issue in the spring but had been largely healthy since then, getting frequently optioned to Triple-A and back as needed. He has a solid 3.41 ERA in 87 Triple-A innings this year but has a 6.40 mark in his 32 1/3 big league frames. After so much missed time, just being able to take the mound and take on that workload has to count as a big win, but he’s now facing yet another injury setback.

McHugh, now 36, signed with Atlanta on a two-year, $10MM deal going into 2022. The first season of that deal could hardly have gone much better, as he posted a 2.60 ERA over 69 1/3 innings. This year, however, his ERA has climbed to 4.30 in his 58 2/3 innings. Last year’s strikeout rate of 27.6% has dropped to just 17.5% this year, while his walk rate has climbed from 5.1% to 8.2%.

The club is in comfortable position right now, with a lead of 14.5 games in the National League East and even a lead of 3.5 games over the Orioles for best team in the majors. They will cruise into the postseason but will have a bit less pitching depth for the next few weeks and perhaps into October. A quick turnaround from either pitcher or a deep postseason run from the club could get Soroka or McHugh back into the mix but the time left in the season is narrowing quickly.

Atlanta will eventually have to make decisions about the future of both pitchers. McHugh’s contract contains a $6MM club option for 2024 with a $1MM buyout. Soroka will be eligible for arbitration again and due a raise on this year’s $2.8MM salary. He’s in his final option year and is slated to be out of options next season, which will give him less roster maneuverability going forward.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Michael Soroka

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect