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USATSI

Braves All-Star starting pitcher Mike Soroka had his 2020 season cut short when he tore his right Achilles tendon on Aug. 3. He had surgery to repair it four days later and has since been working his way back. He recently suffered a setback, however, and will undergo exploratory surgery with a specialist in Green Bay, Wisconsin, per the Braves (via David O'Brien of The Athletic). 

Apparently, Soroka recently felt some soreness and the Braves had him get an MRI, leading to the decision to have this surgery. Soroka also experienced some shoulder discomfort in early April as he was looking to get back on the mound. 

No information about a possible return for Soroka was given, obviously, because the extent of injury here isn't yet known. It's an exploratory procedure. Once the Doctor explores, more will be known. 

Regardless, this is rough news for the Braves. Soroka was an All-Star in 2019 when he was 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA (176 ERA+), 1.11 WHIP and 142 strikeouts in 174 2/3 innings. He finished sixth in NL Cy Young voting that year as a 21-year-old. He had to leave his third start last season with the aforementioned injury. 

The Braves' rotation so far this season has been pretty disappointing. Charlie Morton may be fighting off Father Time with all his might, Drew Smyly and Bryse Wilson have been pretty bad and Max Fried has been a mess to this point. Ian Anderson has been solid, and Huascar Ynoa has been a godsend and their saving grace.

At some point, there have to be workload concerns with the 23-year-olds -- Wilson, Anderson and Ynoa -- given how short last season was. Heck, Fried only threw 165 2/3 innings in 2019 before dropping down to 56 last year. 

This is to say, a season like 2020 happening before this one means the depth of starting rotations is very likely to be key down the stretch and the Braves looked like they were going to have some. Losing Soroka from that equation would be a big blow both to said depth and to the upside.