The Arizona Diamondbacks navigate a late-season rotation crisis as Michael Soroka battles right arm inflammation, aiming for a swift recovery.
Right-hander Michael Soroka has endured a difficult recent stretch with injuries.
Soroka, who signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks during the offseason, had been progressing smoothly through his 2026 season until a left glute strain sidelined him for approximately six weeks.
After finally recovering and returning to the rotation, another physical issue surfaced only three starts later.
In a late roster move Sunday, the Diamondbacks placed Soroka back on the 15-day Injured List, this time because of inflammation in his throwing arm.
The move came after one of his worst performances of the season. Soroka allowed six runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks in only 3.1 innings in an 11-5 home loss against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.
How long will Soroka be out?
For the moment, Arizona remains optimistic about his recovery timeline.
That optimism is particularly important because the Diamondbacks’ rotation has become increasingly unstable with the postseason race approaching its decisive stages.
According to Alex Weiner from Arizona Sports, manager Torey Lovullo believes Soroka could potentially return after spending the minimum amount of time on the Injured List.
If everything progresses according to that timetable, Soroka could rejoin Arizona’s MLB roster around Sept. 7.
Lovullo explained after Sunday’s 5-3 victory over Cincinnati that the plan is to give Soroka a couple of days to recover before getting him back on the mound. Arizona hopes he can return on Day 16 and miss as little time as possible.
“He’s going to hopefully be ready on Day 16.,” Lovullo said.
“The plan is to get him a couple days down, get him back on the bump and miss as few days as possible.”
Soroka expressed similar optimism.
The right-hander explained that minor physical problems inevitably arise during a season, with some disappearing and others becoming more persistent. He felt his latest issue reached the point Saturday where Arizona needed to address it.
“There’s always little things that arise throughout the course of the season,” Soroka said.
“Sometimes things go away, sometimes they don’t. I think the other night, that line got crossed. I think we wanted to take a look and see how we could get through this for the rest of the season.”
Initially, Soroka hoped the Diamondbacks had identified the problem early enough for him to avoid missing a start. Instead, he believes spending two weeks recovering provides a better opportunity to return at full effectiveness for the remainder of the season.
“Initially, the hope was that we could catch something pretty early and not miss a start. But I think this gives us a very good chance to be able to come back in exactly two weeks and be as good as I can be,” Soroka explained.
There is reason for caution despite that optimism.
Soroka initially hoped his left glute injury would require only a short absence, but that recovery eventually lasted more than a month.
Soroka’s importance
Soroka brings experience, composure and an understanding of how to navigate difficult situations on the mound. When healthy, he can give the Diamondbacks a veteran presence capable of stabilizing a rotation that increasingly needs reliability.
His ability to adjust is equally important. Soroka has already dealt with significant adversity throughout his career, requiring him to adapt physically and mentally while continuing to compete at the MLB level.
Arizona will need that if he returns in September.
With the Diamondbacks fighting for a postseason berth, every healthy and dependable starting option matters.
Soroka’s immediate priority is making sure this absence actually remains short and that, when he returns, he can stay in the rotation for the rest of the season.
