TODAY: Sorokoa provided an update to reporters (including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Athletic’s David O’Brien), describing his shoulder issue as an “overload thing,” possibly from offseason workouts. He said his current shoulder problem isn’t related to the injuries that plagued him last season, and that he expects to be throwing within a few days and then pitching in game action late in Spring Training.
FRIDAY: Braves righty Mike Soroka has been shut down for an as-yet-undetermined stretch after experiencing discomfort in his throwing shoulder, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report. It seems he will not require an MRI at this time, with the suspicion being that he is just dealing with tendinitis.
The hope had been that Soroka would be able to participate fully in camp after indications were that he was throwing without pain in the run-up to Spring Training. He had shown quite a bit of promise in a brief MLB run in 2018, but missed much of the season owing to shoulder problems.
As things have shaken out, there’s no real path for Soroka to battle for an Opening Day rotation spot. Instead, per skipper Brian Snitker, the club’s training staff is “just going to slow play him now.” Soroka will get some rest and then be watched carefully as he attempts to ramp things back up.
The hope at this point is that it’s just a blip for the talented 21-year-old. Snitker says that “everything checks out fine” from a structural perspective and that Soroka’s “strength is fine.” There’s even hope that Soroka will be back on a throwing program within the week, per the manager.
Braves fans can breathe easy for the time being, then. So long as Soroka bounces back and doesn’t experience further discomfort, he’ll still be available for almost all of the 2019 campaign. And the club still has a few other exciting youngsters, led by Touki Toussaint, ready to step into the fifth spot in the rotation. Of course, it’s also not the most comforting thing to hear after all that Soroka went through last year.
Even in the most optimistic scenario, the injury could well hurt Soroka’s pocketbooks. Once healthy, he will likely be optioned, stopping the clock on his service time. He picked up 153 days last year, much of it on the disabled (now injured) list, which would set him up for future Super Two qualification unless he spends a decent portion of the upcoming campaign in the minors.
Called it, he won’t be able to be relied on. Shoulders are tricky.
thanks Nostraudamus.
tough guy eh
canadian Nostraudamus?
Cleft lip thief?
any way to watch Spring games without having to pay for Espn+?…I dont see them on any local channels?
You are right, I saw Soroka pitch last year and he was a top talent, but his shoulder problems might kill him.
Maybe his career, but I don’t think shoulder injuries will actually kill someone.
Only the really bad ones.
Only if you bleed out or go into severe shock
Overreaction. Before you declare yourself a prophet of the baseball gods, he is only sidelined for 4-5 days for the moment. How about we see if this is more than tendinitis?
Lol ok guy… If it means so much to you to win the internet for a day that’s fine and I could care less, but allllll I was saying months ago is that he cannot be relied upon until this is behind him and not a single person on earth could ever know when thats going to be ..
We’re guna miss Annibal this year to get us through the regular season and Washington was very wise to steal him away from us in that regard.
The regular season is all about checkers and postseason is where the chess games starts gents.
lol… it’s always funny when the kettle calls the pot black.
It’s almost funny as ppl living in glass houses whom throw stones. Omg I’m dead
Thanks Johnny Superscout
“Lol ok guy… If it means so much to you to win the internet for a day that’s fine…”
You’re the one who declared “Called it”.
Chippahawk, you related to Xabial?
* who throw stones
Good thing we have 9 other prospects who can take his place. Cant have to many pitching prospects.
What if they need protection from the rule 5 but you don’t have room on the 40 man?
Chippahawk…..yeah I remember that. I remember because you were the only one who went that far out on the limb to suggest that someone with a history of shoulder trouble may have more in the future. True brilliance is never appreciated in it’s current time
That’s too bad.
They’re going down like flies!
Bring in keuchel schuerholz.
How out of touch are you?
ahh here comes debby downer
You obviously don’t follow these boards much but that’s ok…
no I guess not, am I missing out on sarcasm I guess?
I was talking about slow above you.
gotcha…yeah he didnt like my 10 year humor either apparently. He’s like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh: “its gonna rain”…
“10 year humor”? Is that like a 100-year flood?
is Shuerholz still around making decisions. Not try to poke fun, I really dont know. If so where did this Mcguirk guy come from? Not a fan
I was joking cuz I’ve given up on all the others and that schuerholz is still the one that can pull the strings like he did for so long after he stepped down from gm.
lol gotcha…I’d put my money on Bobby still pulling a few strings for sure
I think when he did try to take the gloves off and let Wren do his thing, Schuerholz was like …. nope. Never again.
Yep! Coppy was fun at least and let us know what he was doing..
Scherz was the GOAT hands down tho!
just ask him out on a date already.
If it brings us back to the organization we used to be under his watch i will just for you clep. Winning used to mean everything and the Braves used to be all about contending and caring about their product and i think its about time we get back to that with a rebuilt farm and new stadium.
U cant just rely on your seeds like this regime is doing. A harper and/or a keuchel puts them over the top.
You’re not really a Braves Homer in the traditional sense, are you?
What’s the traditional sense? Promoting everything they do or don’t do regardless if I agree with it or not?…then no. Braves Homer in that I will relentlessly root for the team thru thick and thin, watch them most nights and attend a lot of games?..then yes. I root for the players on the field, not the front office. And you?
I think he was referring to you not having a clue who McGuirk is. Most people who love their team know the big dogs at the very least and Terry has been around for a while. Although as a Braves fan, I wish we could get rid of him. He’s proven to be just a liberty media yes man
“Bring in keuchel schuerholz.”
Please don’t.
Who is Keuchel Schuerholz? Sweet name; never heard of ‘im.
Which is why fans of teams that are always “playing for the future” are doomed to disappointment.
And the Braves are fortunate; they have other possibilities besides Soroka. But that took a lot of work and skill, which, frankly, other teams haven’t shown.
Which is why fans of teams that are always “playing for the future” are doomed to disappointment.
yuuuup
The only one that I can think of that’s come back to bite us was Wainwright. Anyone remember Kyle Davies?
His game in Boston was his whole career. The end
It sure seems that way bobtillman.
shoulder injuries suck
Braves gambled by hoping everyone they already had was healthy and then played well. It’s not off to a good start. Swanson still has wrist problems. Now this.
Swanson doesn’t have wrist problems still. He’s just being extra cautious and not rushing into spring training.
He played through the injury last year – and his offense (not defense) suffered from it. He knows he can’t have that excuse this year – make or break year for him. Between being rushed up too early and much of 2018 marred in a wrist injury, we need to see him healthy to be able to gauge what his future is.
Recovering from wrist surgery is a wrist problem.
It’s a good thing the Braves signed Donaldson then. They don’t have to rely on prospect Riley at 3B if Camargo plays SS.
Soroka probably wasn’t going to contribute much this season anyway. Touki and probably Gohara are ahead of him, not to mention all the others the Braves have.
Dallas Kuechel…c’mon! Ahhh who am I kidding, not gonna happen
Relax braves fans. They have the artificial depth in the minors. Instead of spending and improving the rotation, they rather work with a AAA rotation.
Dallas Keuchel is still out there. Why this guy is still on the market, is beyond me
It’s called a qualifying offer. Same reason Kimbrel isn’t signed.
Because he’s overrated?
Not a Keuchel fan. He’d just block the opportunity of a young guy. He’s not an ace.
Because he’s looking for a contract exceeding what a pitcher who tallied a pedestrian 3.74 era last year deserves.
Go look up era stats and see how many people have lower eras
another one bite the dust
Its not an undertermind amount of time. It’s 4-5 days for now.
tomahawktake.com/2019/02/22/atlanta-braves-bad-new…
Still, it’s difficult not to hold my breath.
No need to freak at the moment. Read the article. It isn’t exactly the biggest concern. Plus even if it is, the 5th spot is up for grabs between a lot of prospects. He was still fighting for a spot and we have a lot of quality prospects to fit that role
Tendinitis this early in camp is actually more normal than people think. If it’s just him getting his arm back up to season form, he’ll likely be shut down for a couple weeks and be re-evaluated. Could very easily still be ready for opening day
This has TJ surgery written all over it.
TJ isn’t shoulder surgery. Unless he alters his delivery to take stress off his shoulder, his UCL should be fine.
A Canadian with above-average control and shoulder problems. This feels like Roy Halladay and Mel McQueen all over again. Let’s see if they need to change his arm slot.
I don’t think it’s his arm slot. I think that’s fine. Watch how he ends his delivery. His arm keeps going but he keeps his back straight. He causes more stress on his shoulder by forcing his shoulder to slow down his arm motion. If he bent more at his back as he follows through, it would prob take the stress off the shoulder. A very tough adjustment to make when what you do now works so well and you hit spots. But he’s gonna have to figure something out
TJ effects the elbow at this point would much rather it be TJ
Soroka will be one of those guys that take years to put together a healthy season and when he does it will be a great year but they will come few & far between
Darn darn darn darny darn!
Please watch your language.
It sucks because he’s got huge potential but their depth makes this a little less painful.
Pitch underhand. It’s easier on the shoulder.
dude isn’t Aussie, doubt that is gonna happen
I watched Jenny Finch strike out quite a few super star MLB players on the tele !
The Braves have a ton of quality pitching prospects. They could miss on a few and still be in great shape.
Made me think of Mike Sirotka and “shouldergate.”
Still hasn’t thrown a pitch for the Blue Jays….
Stroman.
Hope the kid is ok…great talent and would give something for young Canadian kids to watch and think it’s possible to get to the show. The sport in the country just isn’t viewed as a legitimate option. Seeing Taillon and Soroka have success would be good for the sport in the country…. Hope the Albertan can overcome the concern and get back on the bump.
Paxton, Axford and others pitch. Votto, Freeman, and many others play. We’ll even claim Vlad Guerrero jr. as he was born here. (Though technically hasn’t played a game)
But you’re right. Baseball doesn’t get the limelight like hockey.
By your same rules, you then can’t claim Freeman (born in USA to Canadian parents). Pick or choose.
Baseball Canada would rather choose retired players than up-and-comers to represent them Internationally, so trying to show young Canadians that they matter is a difficult sell.
Vlad should have been asked to represent Team Canada in the 2017 WBC. Yeah, he was only 17 turning 18. Does not matter; they let minor league Canadians play for other countries because having Ryan Dempster and Eric Gagne mattered more to Baseball Canada. Don’t give me the “they were trying to win and avoid having to re-quailfy” argument. Washed up, retired ex-major leaguers aren’t the way to go, period.
If Canada wants better players and better development it’s time for an overhaul at Baseball Canada from the top down.
So not going to the World Baseball Classic makes minor league Canadian players worse somehow?
BravesCanada – Not what I said. Not sure how you surmised what I said to that. The point was Baseball Canada needs an overhaul. They’ve needed an overhaul for nearly 20 years. Greg Hamilton is not the guy to lead them to the next level and Ernie Whitt should have been dismissed at least a decade ago.
Although more players are securing scholarships and professional contracts than ever before, the overall development quality has become stagnant.
Retired players had no place on the National team and if Vlad had been put on the Canada roster he’d probably choose Canada the next go-around. Instead, I would not be surprised if he chose the Dominican Republic because they will have an excellent chance at winning. Meanwhile, Canada will be calling Michael Saunders and Erik Bedard for 2021.
Baseball Canada has nothing to do with development though is what I’m saying….sure they have the national team and junior national team, so for those 50 players yes they have opportunities to play at a higher level…..the more players securing scholarships and contracts means that development in Canada is better than ever.
Um yeah….that is why inferior countries continue to whip us in International play, especially WBC. Not going to buy the excuse of the best pitchers not participating.
You are also wrong; Baseball Canada has a lot to do with the development. Their message in 2017 was simple; you young guys aren’t good enough to compete with retired players.
Baseball Canada is also (supposed to) play an active role with the developmental programs across Canada. I can tell first hand they are failing at that.
Canada baseball better than ever? Only thing noticeable is failure continues.
If more players are getting signed and getting scholarships, then yes that means it’s better. Our top 25 can’t compete with the other countries. That has nothing to do with development.
Paxton is from BC. A Ford is from SW Ontario. Much warmer thank Calgary.
@PTSD Axford,Paxton good Canadian players. Freddie only played for Canada due to his moms roots(not Canadian but was great to see him on that roster). Votto has done nothing for Canadian baseball as he turns his nose up to them every time. At this time for the next generation of Baseball kids…Soroka and Taillon are the only names that I can come u with that kids can cheer for. Votto is pretty much done and a punk…lol All the kids on the team I coach tuned into what Soroka was doing when he called up. If the kid can have a career. It could put help Baseball Alberta grow the game in the province. Our season is all of 2 months long here. Pretty damn amazing that kid made the show playing out of Calgary. In fairness to Votto I believe one year he was asked to represent Canada he was coming off an injury. Still a punk to me though. No I don’t know the guy and I’m sure he’s a decent human being. In his heyday he had an opportunity to really help the cause of growing recognition for the game in Canada. Not his job to do so but….On another note the Bluejays have finally figured out they need to get involved in grass roots to help grow the game….About damn time
From the box score it looks like he did well today! Let’s hope he’s not another Mike Minor, floating around on the D.L. his whole career w/the Braves eating up salary producing very little behind those “shoulder” issues!
Will the Braves be facing Harper on Opening Day in Phillies ballpark?
Bowden, from the athletic has heard rumors that Soroka will be throwing left handed due to his recurring injury to his right shoulder.
Lmao
Bummer. Unless there’s any structural damage, though, this simply may be a kid who’s never been hurt before trying too hard to rehab too fast. Soroka (Canadian, shorter summers, etc.) may take longer to be in the kind of condition it requires to handle the stress of a regular MLB rotation spot. Plus, he’s only 20/21.
I would imagine the Braves will micromanage, supervise or at least monitor his off-season work from now on.
A bit off topic here, but how’d we go from rumors about Realmuto, Kluber, Haniger, Peralta, Grienke, etc. to nothing….I’m not saying we should have given up most of our prospects or spent a billion dollars, but does anyone else feel a bit underwhelmed by how this offseason has played out?
Who is going to be the next big pickup for the Braves. They still have atleast one in the bank.