Calgary pitcher Soroka sent back to triple-A by Atlanta after 2 starts in comeback bid
'That's not quite me,' he said after allowing 5 runs with 2 outs to D-backs on Sunday
Atlanta right-hander Michael Soroka, who posted an 8.38 earned-run average in two starts in his comeback from two right Achilles tendon tears, was optioned to triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.
The move came after Soroka allowed five runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings in Atlanta's 8-5 win over the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Sunday. All the runs allowed by the Calgary native came with two outs. After the game, he said: "That's not quite me."
Soroka, an all-star as a rookie in 2019, was Atlanta's opening day starter in 2020 before suffering his first Achilles tendon tear early in the season. The 25-year-old needed a follow-up procedure before suffering a second tear in 2021.
He exited a start against the New York Mets after tearing his right Achilles, and he then tore the same Achilles in June 2022 later while walking into the clubhouse.
"It was his first day out of the [walking] boot," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said at the time. "He was just walking."
Soroka emerged as one of the foundations of Atlanta's rotation in 2019, when he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA over 29 starts. The Canadian earned a spot in the all-star game, finished second in National League rookie of the year balloting and sixth for the Cy Young Award as the league's top pitcher.
He was also the 2019 recipient of the Tip O'Neill Award as Canadian baseball player of the year.
The award, presented annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, was in the hands of a pitcher for the second year in a row after James Paxton claimed the honour in 2018.
A first-round draft pick in 2015, Soroka made his major-league debut late in 2018.
The team didn't immediately announce who would replace Soroka in the rotation. An option could be rookie AJ Smith Shawver, who threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief in his debut on Sunday.
Atlanta also claimed infielder Lucas Williams off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday and optioned Williams to Gwinnett. To make room on the 40-man roster, left-hander Max Fried was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
With files from CBC Sports
