‘No sugar-coating’ big injury
ATLANTA — When Mike Soroka’s teammates heard him scream, they feared the worst.
When they saw him being helped off the field, unable to put any weight on his right leg, they knew it was bad.
“If Mike can’t walk off, you know it’s pretty serious,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said.
One of baseball’s brightest young pitching stars, Soroka is done for the year after tearing his right Achilles tendon during a seemingly routine play Monday night against the Mets.
The loss of Soroka is certainly a huge blow to the two-time reigning NL East champions, who already were struggling to put together a solid fiveman rotation.
Former ace Mike Foltynewicz was sent outright to minor league camp after one dismal start and seems unlikely to be of help anytime soon.
Sean Newcomb has been roughed up in his two starts. Kyle Wright and Touki Toussaint have shown promise but not nearly enough consistency to assure themselves permanent spots in the rotation.
Max Fried, a 17-game winner last season, is the only starter the Braves can really count on at this point.
“Somebody else is going to get an opportunity,” manager Brian Snitker said. “Things like that happen. These guys will regroup.”
Freeman sounded a bit more pessimistic.
“There’s no sugarcoating it,” he said.