Right-hander Michael Soroka heard the “rumblings,” so he wasn’t surprised to learn he had been traded to the White Sox last week.
“I had a good idea about the possibility of me being moved,” the former All-Star said.
A trade became reality when Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos called to let Soroka know he was going to the Sox with four other players for left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer. In Soroka’s words, it was “a nice little pick-me-up.”
Soroka, who has pitched only 46 innings after 2019 because of two right Achilles tears, was thankful for the opportunity with the Sox, who need to fill several spots in their rotation.
And then Soroka talked to Chris Getz, who had just pulled off his first trade as the Sox’ general manager. Getz expressed how excited the Sox are to have him, “and that made me feel awesome. I can’t wait to get out there.”
Soroka said the minor forearm strain that surfaced in September is behind him and that he’s throwing again. The arm “feels great,” he said.
As for the Achilles, “I feel really good right now” after a long, tough road back to pitching.
“I got there eventually,” he said. “Starting to feel like the athlete I wanted to be from the start or an even better athlete. This offseason has been huge for me.”
The Sox saw firsthand how Jake Burger — like Soroka, a first-round draft pick — came back from reinjuring an Achilles. Soroka saw it, too, and drew inspiration from it. The two talked often.
“He was huge for me through my rehab,” Soroka said.
Burger encouraged Soroka to keep pushing when it didn’t feel like progress was taking place.
“He was the only one really in pro sports that had done it twice and come out the other side,” Soroka said.
The Sox also acquired left-hander Jared Shuster, infielders Nicky Lopez and Braden Shewmake and minor-league pitcher Riley Gowens in the trade. Soroka was 2-2 with a 6.40 ERA in seven games (six starts) covering 32⅓ innings in 2023 but is the “name” and wild card in the deal.
You never know. And the Sox only have Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech returning from the 2023 rotation — that is, if neither is traded as Getz looks to change the face of his roster and bolster the farm system with needed depth.
“Essentially, [2023 was Soroka’s] first full season back from having a multiple-year layoff,” Getz said of this low-risk, potentially high-upside acquisition. “There were some moments and flashes of what Soroka was earlier in his career. Navigating a season like that after being off, it can be tricky. But to have that under his belt, learning where his body is now, there is some upside there. And, once again, he’s coming from an organization that has been recently successful. He’s pitched really meaningful games for the Braves.”
Soroka, a 6-5, 26-year-old Canadian, has been through the highs of being a top prospect, an All-Star and a Rookie of the Year runner-up during a 14-4, 2.68 season covering 29 starts in 2019 (he was sixth in National League Cy Young voting), the lows of the injuries and the trials and doubts through phases of mechanical tweaks in his delivery and changes in training routines.
But on Monday, talking on a Zoom call, he said he “felt giddy” when he first talked to Getz and is “comfortable already” with the Sox.
“I did feel a big weight lifted off my shoulder when I made it back last year,” Soroka said. “Although I was a little more rusty last year than I would have hoped I would be, it was only natural. I got to work through some kinks last year, and I felt like I got to a really good point near the end of the season. The confidence started coming back naturally.”
