A Braves fan favorite isn’t thriving in his new threads as the White Sox announced today that Michael Soroka is being moved to the bullpen.
Michael Soroka is moving to the bullpen. Brad Keller will take his spot. Soroka will stay stretched out and work multiple innings.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) May 14, 2024
“And then Soroka, he’s got some adjustments to make that we feel can really help him,” manager Pedro Grifol said, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
There’s no way other to look at this other than a demotion. Obviously, he could eventually be moved back to the rotation, but to this point, Soroka has struggled in Chicago.
The Maple Maddux owns a 6.39 ERA over nine starts, compiling an 0-5 record. He’s surrendered 10 home runs, tied for the Major League lead, while only striking out 24 and walking 24 over 42.3 innings. Chicago is hopeful the move to the ‘pen will help him regain his form.
“We did the same thing with [Chris] Flexen. He pitched out of the bullpen, he threw a couple times, threw the ball great. Now he’s in the rotation. The same with Soroka: ‘Let’s take a step back, go in the bullpen, pitch with some length over there in the bullpen and see what happens.’ Doesn’t mean he’s going to be there permanently. It just means right now, ‘Let’s go ahead and get you back there, make some adjustments, give you the ball, maintain the length, try to not detrain and move forward,'” Grifol added.
For a team as bad as the White Sox, Soroka being moved to the bullpen is a damning indictment of his production. He needs reps and one of the worst clubs in the sport isn’t going to give him opportunities to start.
Braves Country just hopes he can salvage his career, even if it’s out of the bullpen.
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Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire
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