The Atlanta Braves traded former All-Star starting pitcher Michael Soroka, along with four other players, to the Chicago White Sox for relief pitcher Aaron Bummer, the team announced in a press release.
The Braves also shipped out pitchers Jared Shuster and Riley Gowens, alongside infielders Braden Shewmake and Nicky Lopez, who they just traded for last season.
The decision to move on from Soroka is somewhat surprising given his age, upside and resume. The 26-year-old right hander burst onto the scene in 2018, posting a 3.51 earned run average (ERA) in 25.1 innings pitched during a five game stint before getting hurt. He followed that up with a stellar campaign in his first full big league season in 2019, earning himself an All-Star game appearance and finishing second in the voting for the NL’s Rookie of the Year Award and sixth in the league’s Cy Young race, per Baseball Reference.
The Atlanta #Braves tonight acquired LHP Aaron Bummer from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for RHP Michael Soroka, LHP Jared Shuster, INF Nicky Lopez, INF Braden Shewmake and minor-league RHP Riley Gowens: pic.twitter.com/VHlIEpk56I
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) November 17, 2023
It all went downhill for Soroka after that, though. After being named the Braves’ opening day starter in 2020, he tore his Achilles in his third start, causing him to miss the rest of the season. Thus would begin a truly unfortunate series of circumstances that would cause the once-promising hurler to miss the entirety of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, and the majority of 2023 as well. He ended up getting three surgeries in total on the same Achilles, which he tore again at one point in 2021.
The once-promising starter did make a triumphant return to a big league mound in 2023. However, his production was largely disappointing. He posted a 6.40 earned run average in only seven games before getting shut down yet again, this time with forearm tightness. (RELATED: Remember MLB’s Outrage About ‘New Jim Crow’? Turns Out That Was Complete BS)
Soroka is worth a flier for the White Sox, who are largely in rebuilding mode and can afford to take a chance on a reclamation project like Soroka. As for the Braves, they get a veteran bullpen lefty who’s actually coming off his worst MLB season yet, but is still generally reliable, in exchange for what essentially boils down to a pile of role players.
Soroka is easily the most talented player in the deal, but his balky Achilles lowers his value enough that Chicago can get him for a 30-year-old pen arm. If Soroka does end up bouncing back, this could end up looking like an absolute steal for Chicago.