It's official: Cubs trade two prospects for veteran pitcher Michael Soroka

Troy Taormina - USA Today Sports

Cubs Media Relations · 23 hours ago

CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today acquired right-handed pitcher Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals for minor-league outfielder Christian Franklin and minor-league infielder Ronny Cruz. The Cubs 40-man roster currently stands at 39 players.

Soroka, 27, is 3-8 with a 4.87 ERA (44 ER/81.1 IP) in 16 starts with the Nationals this season. The righthander has allowed two or fewer runs in five of his last six starts since June 28 and has posted the sixth-lowest opponents average (36-for-181/.199) and the seventh-highest strikeout rate (27.8%) among qualified N.L. starting pitchers since June 6. All told this season, Soroka has held right-handed hitters to a .197 (26-for-132), the third-lowest mark among N.L. pitchers (min. 15 GS), trailing Paul Skenes (.167) and Freddy Peralta (.190).

The six-foot, five-inch, 250-pound Soroka has spent parts of eight seasons in the major leagues with the Braves (2018-23), White Sox (2024) and Nationals (2025), missing the 2021 and 2022 seasons due to a right Achilles injury. All told, Soroka is 20-26 with a 3.91 ERA (177 ER/407.1 IP) in 85 career major league games (68 starts).

Following his major league debut in 2018, the righthander enjoyed a breakout season with the Braves in 2019, going 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA (52 ER/174.2 IP). He finished the season second in the N.L. Rookie of the Year voting and sixth in the N.L. Cy Young Award, while becoming the youngest pitcher in Braves history to be named to the N.L. All-Star Team. Soroka was traded to the White Sox in November 2023 as part of a six-player deal involving left-handed pitcher Aaron Bummer.

A Calgary, Alberta, Canada native, Soroka was selected by Atlanta in the first round (28th overall) of the 2015 draft out of Bishop Carroll High School in Calgary.

Franklin, 25, has batted .261 (275-for-1,055) with 53 doubles, 10 triples, 26 home runs and 143 RBI in 307 career minor league games across four seasons in the Cubs organization. He was selected by Chicago in the fourth round in 2021.

Cruz, 18, batted .270 (47-for-174) with 10 doubles, six triples, two home runs and 21 RBI for the Rookie Level ACL Cubs in his first professional season in 2025. He was selected by the Cubs in the third round in 2024.