The Cubs had extensive conversations about right-hander Michael Soroka’s drop in velocity before acquiring him at the trade deadline, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Tuesday. They were well aware of his injury history.
‘‘Given the market and given the asking price and given all those different things, we felt like it was a good bet to make,’’ Hoyer said before the second game of the series against the Reds at Wrigley Field. ‘‘Came out of the game [Monday] night, and right now it’s not looking like a good bet. But that’s our job. We make bets on these things.’’
The Cubs put Soroka on the 15-day injured list with a strained right shoulder. Manager Craig Counsell had predicted the move after Soroka left two innings into his Cubs debut Monday. In a corresponding move, the Cubs recalled reliever Nate Pearson from Triple-A Iowa.
The Cubs had yet to get back the full report on Soroka’s imaging when Counsell and Hoyer addressed reporters, so they didn’t have answers for how long Soroka was expected to be sidelined.
‘‘But obviously disappointed,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘We did a lot of due diligence, a ton of research. And if it doesn’t work out, that’s on me. That’s the job.’’
Soroka, who also was looking for answers about his dip in velocity, had an MRI exam before his last start with the Nationals to rule out any potential injury, he said.
He and the Nationals were satisfied enough with the results to have him pitch last week against the Astros. The Cubs were also ‘‘comfortable enough,’’ as Hoyer put it, to move forward with the deal the next day.
Soroka’s robust injury history includes IL stints for injuries to his right shoulder in each of the last two seasons.
‘‘He’s a really good pitcher,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘Tried to sign him this offseason. We’ve watched him a lot of years. There’s real upside in Mike and a lot of different development opportunities to make him even better.’’
The Cubs envisioned Soroka in a swingman role, hoping that he could move to the bullpen when right-hander Jameson Taillon (strained right calf) returned from the IL this month. So they weren’t necessarily expecting him to shoulder a starter’s workload.
Still, he was the only starting-pitching depth the Cubs acquired at the trade deadline, despite Hoyer striking up talks about a wide range of starting pitchers.
If the gamble had paid off — such as the swings the Cubs took on relievers Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz have — they could have walked away with a win-win of better pitching and a smaller blow to their farm system. Instead, they’re again surveying their options to fill a hole in the rotation, which has seen a rash of injuries this season.
‘‘He’s just an unbelievable teammate, unbelievable guy to be around, and he has battled through so much in his career and always handled it with such grace,’’ said shortstop Dansby Swanson, who also played with Soroka with the Braves before the right-hander missed two seasons with a pair of torn Achilles tendons. ‘‘Hate it for him, but I know all things always work out how they’re supposed to. God’s always got a plan. And just have faith that at some point during this year he’ll be able to come back and pitch really big innings for us.’’
Reinforcements are approaching. Taillon and right-hander Javier Assad (strained left oblique) are scheduled for at least one more rehab start before returning from the IL, Counsell said.
‘‘The off-days this week and next week are helpful to get us to the time when those two guys are available and prepared,’’ Counsell said.
The Cubs are off Thursday and Monday, which gives them the option to go with a four-man rotation for a turn.