White Sox reliever exits with shoulder injury after three pitches

After facing just three pitches in his outing on Sunday, Michael Soroka left with what the White Sox described as stiffness in his right shoulder. More information will be available after Soroka completes tests; nonetheless, he experienced additional shoulder problems during his first two major league seasons in 2018–19, and his 2022 and 2023 seasons were prematurely ended due to inflammation in his shoulder. In addition to these shoulder issues, Soroka suffered two torn Achilles tendons, which kept him out of the field for nearly the whole 2020–22 season. However, he made a comeback to the Show by pitching 32 1/3 innings of 6.40 ERA ball with the Braves the previous season.

After that, in November of last year, Atlanta sent Soroka and four other players to Chicago in exchange for Aaron Bummer. Soroka’s debut season with the Sox has been difficult; he has a 5.25 ERA over 72 innings and lost his rotation spot in May. Although Soroka’s 3.49 ERA as a reliever is a significant improvement over his 6.39 ERA as a starter, this most recent shoulder ailment may cause him to experience more unfavorable changes in his career. It might also affect Chicago’s intentions for the trade deadline because a healthy multi-inning reliever would be of interest to multiple teams, and an upcoming free agent like Soroka is a clear trade candidate.

As we approach the All-Star break, more news from around the American League…

On Saturday, the Royals made a spectacular start to their trade deadline maneuvers when they acquired Hunter Harvey from the Nationals in exchange for Kansas City’s Competitive Balance Round A selection in this year’s draft and third base prospect Cayden Wallace. (Washington selected Cal catcher Caleb Lomavita with the 39th overall pick.) What we discovered is that it won’t be an easy trade to make if you want to acquire a top-tier reliever with years of control. MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters were informed by Royals general manager J.J. Picollo that “you’re going to have to give up something to get something.” Harvey adds “great depth” to the relief corps, and K.C. was said to be looking for bullpen help; but, Picollo stated the team was “happy with” James. The task of McArthur is near. Picollo stated, “We focused on depth and having more options at the back end of the game.”

During a pregame radio appearance today, Astros general manager Dana Brown gave an update on Lance McCullers Jr. (h/t to Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Due to some right arm stiffness, McCullers’ flexor surgery rehabilitation was put on hold earlier this week. According to Brown, “we just have to let time heal and we can’t push him.” Brown mentioned that McCullers might make a comeback by September to serve as a reliever, which is noteworthy in and of itself because McCullers has started 127 of his 130 big league games in his career. Due to various injuries, McCullers was only able to play 265 innings during the 2020–22 season and missed the full 2019 and 2023 campaign. Although the specifics of McCullers’ most recent problem are unknown, Brown declared, in a foreboding tone, that the righty had acquired “his second opinion” over the setback.

Joc Pederson was reportedly being pursued by the Blue Jays last winter, but he ultimately signed a one-year contract worth $12.5 million in guaranteed money with the Diamondbacks. In a recent interview with Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, Pederson discussed his offseason discussions with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pederson stated that while his FaceTime meeting with general manager Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider appeared to go well, the talks did not get very far. When it came time for me to make a decision, they simply, I suppose, didn’t want me as badly as some other organizations and weren’t able to properly put together an offer.Their actions didn’t match their words, based on our phone talks and how keen they were in introducing a left-handed bat, so I Well, you could say that, Pederson remarked. “They claimed everything went perfectly, but they later declined to share what other teams had done.” The seasoned slugger expressed no complaints about the way things transpired and even hinted at a future stint as a Jays player. As a righty-mashing DH in Arizona, Pederson is having a fantastic season, hitting.273/.374/.498 with 13 home runs in 277 plate appearances for the D’Backs.