CINCINNATI – Atlanta Braves right-hander Mike Soroka faces surgery that could end his season after tearing his right Achilles tendon again.
The Braves said Saturday that Soroka suffered the new tear Thursday while walking to the clubhouse at Truist Park, where he continued his rehab while the team is in Cincinnati.
“It was his first day without the protective boot,” manager Brian Snitker said before Saturday’s game at Great American Ball Park. “He was walking. I hate that that happened to him. All the signals were on, until he took that step and felt that pop.”
Soroka is now facing her third Achilles tendon surgery. The team says the procedure will be scheduled in a week.
There was no timetable for Soroka’s return prior to this latest setback, although Snitker said he was hopeful that he could return at the end of this season. Soroka hadn’t started pitching from the mound yet.
Snitker texted Soroka on Saturday morning after hearing the news and then spoke to him on the phone.
“It’s put things in perspective,” Snitker said. “He’s ready for the next trip he’s going to be on. The day it happened, he really punched him in the stomach.”
Soroka, who was Atlanta’s Opening Day starter in 2020, tore his Achilles tendon for the first time in a game against the New York Mets on August 3, 2020. He underwent season-ending surgery and He was working his way back this season when he suffered a setback in May that led to a follow-up procedure.
Soroka was again working his way back this season before tearing the same tendon. The Braves say an MRI confirmed the new tear.
Soroka emerged as a mainstay of the Braves’ rotation in 2019, when he was 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA. The Canadian earned a spot in the All-Star Game, finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting and sixth for the Cy Young Award.
Word of Soroka’s setback spread through the Braves’ clubhouse on Saturday.
“Everyone feels bad for him,” Snitker said.
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