The Chicago Cubs got just two innings out of their one starting pitcher addition at the Trade Deadline, and then Michael Soroka went on the shelf with a shoulder issue.
The good news is that the issue seemed to be muscular, and was not considered season-ending. Even better, Soroka was able to get off the mound yesterday in San Francisco, throwing about 20 pitches.
“He’s feeling better every single day, starting to progress to where he wants to be,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told the Tribune of Soroka. “So I think we’ve kind of turned the corner on the throwing side. Now it’s just making sure the build-up over this week is where we want it to be, but he looked good for the first one of really getting on it.”
In theory, Soroka could be ready for a minor league rehab assignment after another week or two, depending on how quickly he can get back up off the mound, and the extent to which he’s throw with intent. I’d say we’re still more than a couple weeks away from seeing him back on the big league roster, though.
I have to believe, at this point in the year, and given how good he could be as a reliever, the Cubs won’t spend all the extra time stretching him fully out. Get him to a place where he can go one or two or maybe three innings in a burst, and get him back and contributing. There’s a lot of upside there that the Cubs could need down the stretch and into the postseason, and frankly I want to know how good he could look in that role.
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Jameson Taillon is not yet on the Injured List, but also not yet listed as a probable pitcher. He left his last start with some groin tightness, and the hope has been that he would feel good enough to take his next start.
That seems to be the status still, as Craig Counsell told the Tribune: “Some level of concern still, definitely not a go for sure yet. So we’ll give ourselves some more days to figure it out. … If it resolves itself in a couple days, which is certainly possible, then we should be good.”
The good news is that the Cubs have Javier Assad available and still stretched out if they just need to slide him into Taillon’s spot (he was optioned but can return if someone goes on the IL). If the Cubs just want to delay Taillon a little bit, they could also give a start to Ben Brown or Jordan Wicks (or piggyback the two), each of whom is currently in the bullpen.
© Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images* * *
If you missed it in the Bullets, the Cubs announced that pitching prospect Brandon Birdsell will have season-ending elbow surgery (precise nature of the procedure not announced, or maybe not known until the surgeon gets in there).
Birdsell, 25, was the Cubs’ 5th round pick in 2022 out of Texas Tech, ascended rapidly, and was the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year just last season. This year, he dealt with a serious lat injury in the spring, then had elbow issues, and now has to have surgery. Unfortunately, on the cusp of the big leagues, Birdsell managed just 33.2 innings minor league innings this year, half of that on a rehab assignment. Now it’s very up in the air what his 2026 season might look like.
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