The Diamondbacks are set to get a rotation boost next week, and it should come with Michael Soroka back on the mound.
Manager Torey Lovullo said on the Burns & Gambo Show that it looks “ very strongly ” like Soroka will start Monday against the Rockies. Soroka has been out since late June because of a glute strain, so Arizona has been waiting quite a while to plug him back into the mix.
The timing lines up with the club’s recent roster move. On Friday, Arizona optioned left-hander Kohl Drake to the minors, removing the rookie from the No. 5 starter role he had held for the past few turns through the rotation. Drake was replaced after his start on Thursday by reliever Kade Strowd, and that shuffle left an opening Soroka appears ready to fill.
Before the injury, Soroka had given Arizona exactly what it hoped for and then some. Through his first 15 starts with the Diamondbacks, he logged a 3.07 ERA across 82 innings.
The underlying numbers suggested some good fortune - a 3.60 xFIP and a 3.63 SIERA - but he was still doing a lot right. He was suppressing home runs at an elite rate and issuing walks at a career-low 5.1% clip.
Arizona signed Soroka over the winter on a one-year deal worth $7.5MM guaranteed, with another $2MM in incentives attached. The 29-year-old arrived after posting a 4.52 ERA in 22 appearances for the Nationals and Cubs in 2025. Even with the uneven run prevention, there were encouraging signs: he kept the strikeout gains he had shown in a mostly relief role in 2024, and he got to 89 2/3 innings, his highest total since 2019.
For the Diamondbacks, the first few months of the investment looked like a win. Now they’re hoping the back half brings the same.
The return comes at a useful moment. Entering Saturday’s action, Arizona held a half-game lead in an NL Wild Card spot.
The club mostly stayed quiet at the trade deadline, aside from adding outfielder Lars Nootbaar, so getting Soroka back should help cover for the absence of Zac Gallen. The rotation is still missing Corbin Burnes and Ryne Nelson, though, and it was an area many expected the team to address more aggressively.
Instead, general manager Mike Hazen and the front office passed on the likes of Casey Mize and Foster Griffin Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Brandon Pfaadt, all of whom have had stretches of strong performance this season.
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