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 as 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.
