Soroka (shoulder discomfort) headed to IL after Cubs debut cut short

CHICAGO – Michael Soroka fired a fastball to Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson in the second inning on Monday night and felt something grab in his right shoulder. The new Cubs starter – making his debut for the club after being acquired at the Trade Deadline – hoped the sensation would calm after a few more pitches.

The next fastball Soroka featured was to Jake Fraley – an offering that sailed extremely high and outside. The right-hander finished the frame, but promptly delivered the news that his shoulder was hurting. And in the wake of a tough 3-2 loss to the Reds, Cubs manager Craig Counsell delivered the news that Soroka would be heading to the injured list.

“Look, you feel bad for Michael first,” Counsell said, “and just hope that there’s just some discomfort there and a couple weeks can take care of it. That’s where we’re at. We’re going to have to wait to get more information before we know what we’re dealing with.”

The Cubs shipped a pair of prospects – outfielder Christian Franklin and infielder Ronny Cruz – to the Nationals on Wednesday night in order to acquire Soroka. The idea was to plug the righty into Chicago’s rotation right now, while knowing Soroka also had the capability of sliding into the bullpen as a multi-inning arm.

That plan is now in flux for the Cubs, who are suddenly trying to chase a red-hot Brewers squad that has built a three-game lead atop the National League Central. The Cubs were unable to add a front-line starter at the Deadline, but the addition of Soroka looked like a solid way to add an insurance layer to a staff in need of innings.

Now, Soroka is just hoping he can factor into the playoff chase later this season.

“I think there’s a lot of baseball left for this club,” Soroka said, “and I’d like to be a big part of that down the stretch. We’re going to do everything possible to be there.”

The severity of Soroka’s setback is not immediately known, as he will be examined by the team’s medical staff and undergo testing in the coming days. The pitcher noted that he recently underwent an MRI exam ahead of his final start for Washington on July 29. The Cubs were aware of that before the trade and the pitcher said the test results did not show any red flags.

“There was no reason to believe there was anything wrong,” Soroka said. “Unfortunately, that changed a little bit in the second inning today.”

Soroka said the MRI was to give him “peace of mind” as he and the Nationals tried to get to the bottom of velocity issues that arose over the past month-plus. The righty’s four-seam velocity had dropped to 92.1 mph on average in July after being 94.4 mph in June. It remained down on Monday (90.8 mph average).

On Monday night, Soroka threw a 91.7 mph fastball to Stephenson on a 1-1 pitch in the second inning, when the pain flared. Stephenson launched a homer three pitches later. The next fastball Soroka threw to Fraley came in at 89.6 mph. The last one he threw – Soroka’s 31st and final pitch of the game – registered at 89.3 mph.

“It didn’t go away,” Soroka said of the discomfort. “You feel things here and there through the course of an outing. Usually if you throw another one and it’s gone, it’s nothing. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. So, I decided to say something when I came in after that inning.”

As things stand, the Cubs’ rotation features Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga at the top, along with rookie Cade Horton and veteran Colin Rea. Jameson Taillon needs at least one more Minor League rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa. Javier Assad’s timetable is less clear. Ben Brown was moved to the bullpen upon Soroka’s arrival as a multi-inning arm, but was pressed into duty after the injury.

Brown gave Chicago four impressive frames, but other issues sunk the Cubs on this night. Dansby Swanson missed first base on a would-be, game-tying infield single in the seventh, the defense made some miscues and the first four batters in the lineup combined to go 0-for-14.

“Ben Brown did a heck of a job,” Counsell said. “The bullpen pitched well. We just didn’t hit. Simple as that.”

That made for an overall frustrating night for the Cubs.

“You come to this org and you hope to hit the ground running,” Soroka said. “Two innings later, we’re having to pull the plug. Obviously, it’s concerning, but there is hope that it’s something that can be taken care of fairly quickly. Hopefully we’ll be back out there in some respect at some point soon.”