Braves fans got some good news on Friday, as Jon Heyman reported that pitching prospect Mike Soroka has resumed throwing.
The Braves shut down Soroka after experiencing inflammation in his rotator cuff. Prior to this, he has just joined the Braves rotation and had made five impressive starts. While it is a huge bummer that the Braves were without Soroka down the stretch, it is good that the team played things safe, and assuming he is already throwing now, he should be 100% for next season.
The Braves have a lot of guys competing for five rotation spots next year, which will make for some interesting decisions to be made by the front office. Anibal Sanchez will hit free agency, though he has made it known he would like to return. Julio Teheran could be trade bait. The Braves will likely at least have Mike Foltynewicz, Kevin Gausman and Sean Newcomb return, and Touki Toussaint will likely have a spot as well. Then the team has young arms Kolby Allard, Luiz Gohara, Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson and Soroka who will be battling it out for a spot.
Some of these names will have to be moved this offseason, as it has the makings of a huge logjam. I would not bet on the odd man out being Soroka. The Braves are super high on him and will hope he can make an impact out of the rotation next season.