Diamondbacks plan on Michael Soroka making rehab start Tuesday

The Arizona Diamondbacks can see the finish line for getting one of their top-performing starting pitchers back from the injured list: Michael Soroka.

The plan is for Soroka to make a rehab start with Triple-A Reno on Tuesday with a goal of throwing 4-5 innings and 50-60 pitches, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported.

Soroka has long been pointed to as first in line to return among Arizona’s injured starters, a list that includes Corbin Burnes, Ryne Nelson and Zac Gallen. If Soroka only needs one rehab start, he could return to Arizona by the end of the club’s upcoming 10-game homestand, but that is to be determined.

The right-hander exited a start on June 19 with a left glute strain, and he went on the 15-day IL the day after.

At that point, Soroka had made 15 appearances with a 3.07 ERA and seven quality starts. The D-backs went 9-6 in the games he started.

Arizona has had to lean on rookie starters Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake while waiting for their injured pitchers to return, and they have had understandable ups and downs. Bratt will pitch in Cleveland on Friday and Drake will make his third career start on Saturday.

This is a Diamondbacks team that entered the season with a starting pitching surplus, but injuries have piled up for the third straight year.

The trade deadline is on Monday, and the Diamondbacks are weighing the impact of their injury returns with their needs, and that is particularly prevalent in the rotation. Soroka getting closer provides a bit of clarity, but as this team has learned the hard way over the years, the work is not done until he gets through the rehab process.

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