Chicago Cubs Botch Pitching Staff Move

The Chicago Cubs had a very unassuming trade deadline this year. They made three minor moves to try to improve the fringes of the ball club. They acquired Willi Castro from the Minnesota Twins, Andrew Kittredge from the Baltimore Orioles, and Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals.

The front office came under fire for the tepid attitude towards the deadline, and that fire hasn’t died down after the team mismanaged the pitching staff this past week. After releasing Chris Flexen, the team had to place Michael Soroka on the injured list two innings into his Chicago Cubs career.

Chicago Cubs Lose Two Pitchers in One Week

The Chicago Cubs are quickly falling behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. The Cubs once held a 6.5 game lead in the division and currently sit 4 GB of the surging Milwaukee Brewers. The trade deadline was a chance for Chicago to bolster their team to make a two-month push to the postseason. After an underwhelming deadline, the Cubs found themselves with egg on their face in the aftermath of one of their trades this week.

Ahead of the deadline, the Chicago Cubs designated Chris Flexen for assignment. Flexen had been one of the top contributors to the Chicago Cubs bullpen in 2025, working in a multitude of roles and helping the pitching staff manage injuries and unpredictability throughout the first two-thirds of the season. The stunning decision to DFA Flexen led fans to think that a big move was coming down the pike. The acquisition of Michael Soroka did not exactly fit that bill.

The payoff of losing Flexen to gain Soroka was deflating enough, but it got worse when Soroka was injured in his first outing with the Chicago Cubs. After just two innings, Soroka was lifted from the game with left shoulder discomfort and subsequently placed on the 15-day IL. Flexen was released that same day, and Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer came under fire for the disastrous turn of events.

Hoyer Admits Fault

Hoyer acknowledged that the move was risky when speaking to the media, saying, “We knew the velocity was trending down. We obviously talked through that extensively. Given the market, given the asking price and given all those different things, we felt like it was a good bet to make. Ultimately, he came off the mound last night, and right now, it’s not looking like a good bet.

That’s our job to make bets on these things. Doesn’t mean he’s not going to help us the rest of the year.”When asked about Soroka’s availability moving forward, Hoyer said, “We’re still waiting on the medical stuff.” Regardless of Soroka’s status for the rest of the year, the decision to go with Soroka instead of Flexen is questionable to say the very least.

The hope at the trade deadline was that the Chicago Cubs would add a top-tier starter to help propel them towards and into the postseason. When that didn’t happen, and the trade for Soroka hasn’t worked out so far, the trade deadline seems to have been a net negative for the Chicago Cubs’ pitching staff. They now have two fewer pitchers moving forward.