There aren’t many guys on the Braves’ roster who they ought to be trying to deal. The majority of the team is extremely gifted and bound by team-friendly agreements. While those players are here to stay, we saw Alex Anthopoulos show off his creativity in the deal that brought in Sean Murphy in the previous season. Maybe something similar occurs again at the most unexpected time.
Michael Soroka, a player for the Braves, was included in an article by Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter on the 30 best trade chips that could be available this offseason. Michael Soroka came in at number 27 on the list.
2023 Stats: 7 G, 6 GS, 6.40 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 12 BB, 29 K, 32.1 IP, -0.4 WAR
When Michael Soroka finished 13-4 as a rookie in 2019 at the age of 21, with a 2.68 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 142 strikeouts in 174.2 innings, it appeared as though he was ready to become a mainstay in the Atlanta Braves starting rotation.
But after missing the entire 2021 and 2022 season recovering from an Achilles injury, he made just three starts the following year. He also struggled in his limited MLB action, spending the majority of the 2023 season at Triple-A Gwinnett.
He can’t hold down a starting slot for a competitive Braves team, and despite his mediocre season the previous year, they could be able to trade him for a valuable MLB piece to a team that believes he could recover from his injury in the offseason.
There’s a harsh reality that Braves Country is going to have to accept this offseason. He’s projected to make $3 million in arbitration. That’s a reasonable figure that I expect the Braves to pick up, but the issue is he is out of options.
The Braves can give him a fair chance in Spring Training, and hopefully, he shows enough chops to make the rotation out of camp. That’s the best case scenario, because they cannot send him back to Gwinnett. Their only other option if he doesn’t make the roster is to deal him, and that point, his value could be completely obsolete.
If the Braves don’t want to take that risk and find a reasonable trade prior to Spring Training, perhaps they pull the trigger. It’s also possible they cut ties altogether and choose to non-tender Soroka, making him a free agency. However, they’ve hung on this long. It makes sense to see it through one last time, or at the very least, get something in return for his services.
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