While the Washington Nationals have been mired in a recent brutal stretch of baseball from their big league club, they may be able to look back fondly upon one move they made during last week'y frenzy of the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline. The Nationals did finally notch their first Curly W on Wednesday night since the deadline had passed, despite having a Perfect Game carried into the 6th inning against them.
But this article is not as much about our beloved Nationals as it is about a trade partner from last week in the Chicago Cubs. While the Cubs got out to a hot start this season and everything seemed to be going right for them, they have played a much worse brand of baseball over the last few weeks, with star hitters like Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, and others all in a prolonged slump.
Despite their struggles, many Cubs fans believed that the team could recapture their previous form that they had earlier this season, and some had even gone as far as predicting that they could land some sizable trade chips before the deadline passed. They were involved in the rumor mill for two of the biggest fish on the market in Eugenio Suarez and MacKenzie Gore, yet walked away from the deadline with utilityman Willi Castro from the Twins and former Nationals' righty Michael Soroka instead of going for it all.
In return, the Nationals received a solid return including Christian Franklin and Ronny Cruz, and Cubs fans on social media were not happy with the return they gave the Nationals to acquire Soroka. While this is not necessarily an indictment on their front office, with Soroka going down in just his first start in a Cubs uniform earlier this week, Cubs fans now have to learn a harsh reality that Nationals fans already knew. The thing with Soroka is, despite having a lot of the talent he had back in his days with the Atlanta Braves, his body is just not able to be counted on for a prolonged period of time.
In fact, Soroka has already exceeded his previous high of 79.2 innings since his slew of injuries, and his body was showing signs of significant wear and tear before he was traded from the Nationals. His velocity had been down significantly, topping out in the low 90s for almost a month before the Cubs grabbed him, and his command began to slip considerably.
The reality is, the Cubs had a chance to go for it all by sending the house for Gore or another young and controllable pitcher on the market, but instead will have to deal with the harsh truth that Soroka, who was placed on the 15-day IL with a shoulder strain, is not going to be what they need him to be for the stretch run. Additionally, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer went as far to say that the deal is "not looking like a good bet." not even a week after acquiring his services. Yikes.
Hopefully for Soroka and the Cubs, he is able to rebound from a health perspective, but for now, Cubs fans will be left wondering what if, and that is a tough pill of reality to swallow.
Do you think Michael Soroka will validate his trade value? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.