Cubs acquire Mike Soroka from Nationals for two prospects

The Chicago Cubs have acquired pitcher Mike Soroka from the Washington Nationals for two prospects, it was announced Wednesday night.

The Cubs are sending Triple-A outfielder Christian Franklin and 18-year-old infielder Ronny Cruz to the Nationals.

In a separate deal, the Cubs also acquired reliever Andrew Kittredge from the Baltimore Oriolesa source told ESPN, confirming news first reported by the New York Post.

Soroka, 27, is 3-8 with a 4.87 ERA in 16 starts while leading the league in hit batsmen with 14.

Soroka is a six-year veteran, having begun his career with the Atlanta Braves in 2018 before pitching for the White Sox last season and then signing a one-year deal with the Nationals for 2025. The righty didn’t pitch in 2021 and 2022 because of repeated Achilles issues. He has a career 3.91 ERA in 85 games, including 68 starts.

The Cubs are looking for arms ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, as they’ve been without the services of Justin Steele for most of the season while pitchers Jameson Taillon (calf), Javier Assad (oblique) and Porter Hodge (shoulder) are on the mend. All three are due back soon.

Soroka provides both depth in the rotation and the bullpen as the team DFA’d righty Chris Flexen on Tuesday ahead of the deal for Soroka. While Soroka’s overall numbers don’t look good this season, his expected stats are much better, including his expected ERA, which is 3.32.

Kittredge, 35, has a 3.96 ERA in 30 games this season. The nine year veteran is joining his fourth team after spending his first seven seasons with the Rays. He’ll serve as a late inning set up man as the Cubs continue to rework their bullpen. Kittredge has a career 3.45 ERA in 285 games.

Franklin and Cruz rank outside the Cubs’ top-10 prospects, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. Franklin, 25, was hitting .265 with eight home runs for Iowa while Cruz had two home runs, 10 stolen bases and a .270 batting average in the Arizona Complex League.