Braves News: Mike Soroka Throws Bullpen, Close to Facing Hitters

Before the drama that played out on the field Tuesday night, the Atlanta Braves got some great news on Mike Soroka and an update on his injury status. 

As the Atlanta Braves continue to struggle with finding someone for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, perhaps the answer could come later in the year in the form of Mike Soroka.

While the Braves can’t be counting on much from Soroka this year coming off two major Achilles injuries, it would be a nice surprise if he’s able to return and be anything close to what we’ve seen from him in the past.

On Tuesday we received some encouraging news about his progress and even have video of him throwing a bullpen!

The biggest takeaway from that is Soroka thinks he could be a week away from heading down to their Spring Training site where he could face live hitters and start doing some defensive drills.

That would be a huge step in his comeback process.

He also is still targeting a return after the All-Star break, which has always seemed a bit optimistic.

Brian Snitker and the Braves have always sounded a bit more cautious with his timeline.

Best case scenario still seems like a return to the big leagues in late July or early August.

But if starts facing hitters in the next couple of weeks and does that for a few more weeks, we could be looking at a rehab assignment in late June.

The last thing I want to do is get anyones hopes up about Soroka, but it’s hard not to get excited about the possibility.

Also in that report was mention of Kirby Yates who seems to be on a similar timeline as Soroka.

Relief pitchers obviously don’t have to get stretched out as much, so it’s more likely Yates is able to return around the All-Star break if everything goes well in his treatment.