Atlanta Braves right-hander Mike Soroka has suffered a re-tear of his right Achilles tendon and will require season-ending surgery.
The club on Saturday announced that an MRI revealed a complete re-tear of the tendon that he originally injured in August of last year. According to the team, Soroka "felt a pop" on Thursday while walking to the clubhouse at Truist Park.
Soroka, 23, has made just three starts since the end of the 2019 season. For his career, he's pitched to a 2.86 ERA/163 ERA+ and a 3.11 K/BB ratio in 37 starts spread across parts of three MLB seasons. In 2019, he finished sixth in the NL Cy Young balloting and made the All-Star team. The former first-rounder at the time looked like a present and future ace for the Braves. In 2018, he was limited to just five starts because of shoulder issues.
Not long ago, Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos expressed optimism that Soroka might be able to return by August. The re-injury of the Achilles and forthcoming surgery, however, greatly alter that time-table. Given Soroka's struggles in recovering from the Achilles injury, his future outlook is uncertain.
According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Soroka's surgery is scheduled for next week, and the timetable will be determined following the conclusion of the procedure. Based on past Achilles re-tears, it's estimated that Soroka won't be cleared to pitch again until July 2022, Bowman adds.
After the initial surgery to repair the injury suffered last year, Soroka was forced to undergo a second operation -- one exploratory in nature -- in May of this year to determine why his body was rejecting sutures put in place during the first surgery. Now he'll undergo a third procedure for the re-tear.
The Braves, coming off three straight NL East titles, have failed to live up to expectations thus far in 2021, as they enter play on Saturday with a record of 36-39 and in third place. The Braves rotation ranks eighth in the NL with an ERA of 4.05.
