Michael Soroka, Playoff Weapon? Cubs' Trade Deadline Dud Might Yet Bear Fruit in October

When they made a move for him at the trade deadline, the Chicago Cubs certainly envisioned Michael Soroka being a borderline playoff starting pitcher. They could not predict that Soroka would be injured two innings into his Cubs tenure, changing his role for the remainder of the season. That role, though, could still be a massive one, so let's dive a little more into what he can provide them.

Since his return from the injured list, Soroka has made three appearances as a multi-inning relief arm. He's combined to go 4 2/3 innings, with three hits, four walks and four strikeouts. He was technically responsible for four runs in Tuesday night's painful loss, but they were all unearned—and two of them scored after Soroka departed. The walks are a bit concerning, but that could be due to rust after being away from the mound for over a month.

We've known that the plan for Soroka was to go to the bullpen and provide multiple innings of relief. The Cubs, though, already have Aaron Civale and Javier Assad to fill that role. Soroka's role should and may very well be transitioned from long reliever/medium leverage to high-leverage, one-inning reliever during the postseason.

The injury to closer Daniel Palencia has left Chicago with few trusted high-leverage relievers down the stretch. Brad Keller and Andrew Kittredge have each been dominant for long periods, but each has had a blowup or two in the last fortnight, too. It's not clear what the best path from the end of the sixth inning to Out No. 27 will be each night, even when the Cubs get a lead.

The impending return of Palencia will play a big part in determining the role for Soroka. If he can come back and be dominant like he was in the early parts of the season, Soroka's role could be minimized. He could remain in a medium-leverage role in the bullpen and merely provide multiple innings when needed. If not, though, Soroka could be a viable third right-handed option out of the bullpen, alongside Keller and Kittredge.

The final week of the regular season could be important for Soroka. Another outing or two would be ideal, just for him to continue to get work and stay sharp. Ironing out his command issues before the postseason will also be important if he has hopes of being an important piece of the playoff bullpen.

Craig Counsell will certainly have talks with his staff surrounding the best ways to use guys like Soroka and Assad in the postseason. Assad should likely remain in his long reliever role, while Soroka should be moved to high leverage if the stuff plays well against the Mets and Cardinals. He has all the makings of a sneaky bullpen piece who helps a team get through games and claim close wins in pivotal games.

Soroka has a chance to be a true hero out of the bullpen, in his first postseason appearance since one start with Atlanta in 2019. We may be wrong, but a bold take of sorts would be that a deep postseason run for the Cubs will be headlined by a stellar performance from Soroka out of the bullpen. At any rate, he's put himself back into the mix.