CHICAGO — As Michael Soroka chatted with head athletic trainer Nick Frangella and coaches in the dugout, a nightmare scenario emerged for the Cubs.

Soroka was forced out of Monday night’s start after that interaction, and wound up pitching only two innings in his Cubs debut.

The Cubs placed Soroka on the 15-day IL Tuesday afternoon with a right shoulder strain and now the team will have to pivot to search for reinforcements for the pitcher who was supposed to be a reinforcement.

The ripple effects from that moment will be felt for at least the next couple of weeks.

The Cubs received a bit of good news on Soroka’s shoulder, as the strain was graded as “low-to-mid,” manager Craig Counsell said after Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to the Reds.

“Basically anticipate on shutting him down for seven to 10 days and then kinda reevaluating where we’re at,” Counsell said. “So all in all, not terrible news. I think we’ll have a pretty good idea of what’s going on in a week and then kinda go from there.”

The Cubs starting staff was already hurting, with Jameson Taillon on the IL and an open spot in the rotation. Soroka was acquired to fill that hole — at least for a little while.

“We make bets on human beings, and sometimes they work out,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said before Tuesday’s game. “… Obviously disappointed. We did a lot of due diligence — a ton of research. And if it doesn’t work out, that’s on me. That’s the job.”

When Soroka was traded to the Cubs, there were some questions about a dip in velocity in his last several starts with the Washington Nationals. But the right-handed pitcher underwent an MRI before the trade and the Cubs felt good about the medical side of the deal.

“We knew the velocity was sort of trending down,” Hoyer said. “We obviously talked through that extensively. Felt like given the market and given the asking price and given all those different things, we felt like it was a good bet to make. Ultimately, he came out of the game last night, and right now it’s not looking like a good bet.

“But ultimately, that’s our job. We make bets on these things. It doesn’t mean he’s not gonna help us the rest of the year.”

Hoyer’s attention now turns to figuring out backup plans on the pitching staff with the rest of the front office and Counsell’s coaching staff.

Shota Imanaga got the ball for Tuesday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds with rookie Cade Horton scheduled to pitch Wednesday’s series finale.

The Cubs are then off on Thursday and have another off-day on Monday. They should be able to figure out the rotation for the three-game set in St. Louis over the weekend — likely with Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea for Friday and Saturday and then either Imanaga or a bullpen game on Sunday.

Ben Brown is also an option to start, as he came in and relieved Soroka for four innings Monday night.

Because the schedule allows two off-days in a five-day span, the Cubs can give their starters enough rest and kick the can down the road a bit on the fifth spot in the rotation.

If all goes to plan, the Cubs could possibly get by without a fifth starter until Saturday, Aug. 16 against Pittsburgh.

By that point, Taillon or Javier Assad might be ready to rejoin the rotation.

However, after the off-day on Monday, the Cubs have a stretch of 14 games in 13 days (including a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 18). So they will need to make sure they’re not overtaxing their rotation for that stretch.

Taillon (calf) made his first rehab start Sunday and allowed seven runs in three innings with Triple-A Iowa. He will make another rehab start Friday.

Assad had made two rehab starts as he makes his return from an oblique injury and is scheduled to throw again on Wednesday.

Right now, the Cubs are not planning to push either of the veterans to rejoin the big-league rotation early.

“We need to do the right thing by them,” Hoyer said. “I think sometimes we think about the deadline as close to the end of the season. We still have two full months to play, and we need to make sure those guys come back and are ready to go. And we’re not going to alter their plan at all.

“Knock on wood, they’re getting both getting close to the end of their rehabs and close to ready. So that’s a good thing. We’re not going to alter anything because of that.”

That would be a boost for the Cubs pitching staff.

Taillon has a 4.44 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 17 starts this year and had a 3.27 ERA last year for the Cubs.

Assad hasn’t pitched in the majors yet this season, but he has a career 3.40 ERA in 70 career MLB games (47 starts).

Assad made two rehab outings with Iowa in April before experiencing a setback and being shut down. He made an appearance in Rookie ball on July 24 and threw 3.2 innings with Iowa on July 30 (last Wednesday).

But the Cubs don’t want to rush him back until he’s ready.

“I think Assad’s a possibility after this start,” Counsell said. “He’s pitching [Wednesday]. We need to get him through that. He needs to be on the mound more, still. That’s important to be fair to him, really, to be in competition more. But I think he becomes a possibility.”

Taillon was only away from competition for a month and built up to 64 pitches and three innings during his rehab outing Sunday. With him, it’s about making sure he’s built up, but also that he’s right and at his best self on the mound.

“That’s what you’re balancing for sure,” Counsell said. “I think mound time and competition time is better. Getting to a pitch count that’s normalized is important as well.

“So we’ll take all those factors into consideration. The off-days this week and next week are helpful to get us to the time when those two guys are available and prepared.”

As for Soroka, the Cubs have no choice but to wait and see how it plays out.

When they initially acquired him, the Cubs felt they could utilize Soroka as a reliever, too. He has experience there, including a strong stretch in the bullpen with the White Sox last season.

If he is able to get past this shoulder injury relatively quickly, maybe the Cubs can bring him back to help this team out of the bullpen.

But shoulder injuries can be tricky and at this point, the Cubs can’t bank on anything from Soroka down the stretch.