Soroka (Achilles) thinks he could be ready to pitch by Opening Day next season, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
The right-hander noted that Adam Wainwright was able to return and pitch in the playoffs roughly five months after surgery to repair his torn Achilles tendon back in 2015, but Wainwright's injury was to his landing leg and not the leg he pushes off with, which presents an extra wrinkle in Soroka's recovery. The 23-year-old also said he plans to use his rehab period to make some mechanical tweaks to his delivery. He'll be in a cast or boot for four months post-surgery, so he likely won't have a clear timetable for his return to the mound until that gets removed, but Soroka would still have about three more months after that to get into shape for the projected start of spring training in 2021.