Atlanta Braves Starting Pitcher Mike Soroka Overcomes Injury History to Make it Back to Majors

The Braves pitcher, who was once thought of as a pillar of the team's future, has battled injuries for the last three years and will return to the majors this week.

It's hard not to be romantic about baseball, isn't it?

There were obstacles and heartache to overcome, but the perseverance is about to pay off for Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Mike Soroka.

According to the Twitter account, @GASportsNow, Soroka is set to be brought back to the big leagues for the first since 2020 this week.

BREAKING: For the first time since August of 2020, Mike Soroka is expected to rejoin the Atlanta Braves starting rotation in their upcoming series against the Oakland A’s. His long-awaited return to the majors is finally here. Welcome back, @Mike_Soroka28!

BREAKING: For the first time since August of 2020, Mike Soroka is expected to rejoin the Atlanta Braves starting rotation in their upcoming series against the Oakland A’s.

His long-awaited return to the majors is finally here. Welcome back, @Mike_Soroka28! pic.twitter.com/Pe1SeAagbV

— GSN (@GASportsNow) May 28, 2023

It's an important return to Atlanta for multiple reasons: 

1) The Braves need some help in the starting rotation. With Max Fried and Kyle Wright out with significant injuries, the team has turned to the minors for starters, and recently held a bullpen game. That's not sustainable.

2) Soroka is a guy who has had success in the big leagues before. He went 13-4 and made the National League All-Star team in 2019, at the age of 21. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting and sixth in Cy Young voting that year.

He's made 37 career big league starts, going 15-6 with a 2.86 ERA.

Unfortunately, he tore his Achilles' tendon after just three starts in the COVID 2020 season, and tore it again while rehabbing. That's the reason for his lengthy MLB absence.

This year, at Triple-A, he's 1-2 with a 4.33 ERA. He's thrown just over 35 innings for Gwinnett.

The Braves and Phillies play Sunday night at 7:10 p.m. ET.