McFarland: Soroka bets on himself with one-year deal with Nats
After a strong end to the 2024 season as a reliever with the Chicago White Sox, Calgary Redbirds and Junior National Team grad Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) has his sights set on being a starter with the Washington Nationals in 2025.
*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on December 21, 2024. You can read it here.
December 21, 2024
By Joe McFarland
Alberta Dugout Stories
Michael Soroka is betting on himself.
Having succeeded at every level of baseball, including his first full year in Major League Baseball with the Atlanta Braves in 2019, the Calgary native has faced more than his share of struggles.
Following his well-documented run of injuries, a trade to the Chicago White Sox during the winter of 2023, and struggles as a starter to begin 2024, Soroka finally found his footing with a move to the bullpen.
But it’s not where he envisioned himself staying, so coming into the offseason as a free agent, the right-hander began searching for teams wanting to give him another shot in a rotation.
That’s when the Washington Nationals gave him a call.
After a conversation with manager Dave Martinez and the coaching staff, he signed a one-year, $9 million contract.
“Everybody seemed very confident in what they were looking at and how that would translate back into the rotation,” Soroka told reporters during a Dec. 20 conference call on Zoom.
“It wasn’t so much a conversation of me trying to sell them on that fact. It was more of a conversation that this is what they saw, it was intentional, and we’re looking forward to continuing that progress.”
He said it clicked the whole time, showing him that’s where he needed to be as he continues his big-league journey.
PULLING NO PUNCHES
The 2024 season felt like a tale of two different campaigns for Soroka.
He began the year as a starter, but mustered an 0-5 record with a 6.39 earned-run average in nine starts before being moved to the bullpen.
The move actually paid off, as Soroka posted an ERA of just 2.75 while striking out 39 per cent of the batters he faced in 14 appearances.
It’s a strikeout ratio that tripled.
While some may have taken the move as a demotion, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound hurler says he was able to learn a little bit about who he is as an MLBer and his approach on the mound, which changed coming out of the bullpen.
“You get a little more aggressive and punch first before you get punched,” Soroka said.
“That little shift of going to the bullpen and teaching you how to get out there in the first inning and just go … don’t look up and don’t try to plan six or seven innings, just get them out.”
While his mix of pitches changed, the Calgary Redbirds and Baseball Canada Junior National Team alum says he discovered ways of getting good hitters out on a consistent basis, while doing it during multiple-inning outings for a team that struggled to a 41-121 record.
BACK INTO THE ROTATION
Unlike many relievers, Soroka found himself in games for longer than an inning at a time.
In his 14 relief outings, he pitched for more than one frame 11 times, including two four-inning appearances against the New York Yankees on May 19 and the Colorado Rockies on June 30.
As he racked up the appearances, Soroka says his confidence blossomed to where it was prior to his injury battles.
“Finding that confidence was a challenge, but once I kind of got there and got to that point last year, I felt like it was time to really show people what I had been working on the last few years and how it’s all coming together.”
He says he learned a lot from veterans like Charlie Morton and Kevin Gausman, who played with the Braves in 2019, about how they can struggle early in their careers yet come back to make an impact.
Morton, in particular, was a major influence as he tried coming back with the Braves.
“He said if you want to keep doing this and you want to be a big leaguer, you have what it takes, you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and it will all be okay,” Soroka said.
“That was something I had to take in and embody for three-ish years and just realize that I had the confidence that the talent is still there.”
He says he also learned to understand that “different can still mean really good,” which became another big selling point for joining the Nationals.
TIME’S FLOWN BY
Soroka says he was all smiles after his initial meeting with the Nationals, as they are an up-and-coming team with plenty of young talent.
With a rotation featuring Mackenzie Gore, Jake Irvin and DJ Herz as well as other youngsters like CJ Abrams, Luis Garcia and Keibert Ruiz, he believes they will turn heads in a very competitive National League East.
In a weird twist, the 2015 first-round pick now finds himself as a veteran of sorts, entering what is his seventh season of service, even if he’s only been fully healthy for two of those seasons.
He harkens back to Gausman’s 2019 season with Atlanta, where he went 3-7 with a 6.19 ERA in 16 starts, as someone to draw some inspiration from.
“He had a difficult year, but you could tell he kept working and he kept putting things together, and it was just a matter of time and eventually he did,” Soroka said.
“Having that presence of somebody whose been around a little bit, been through struggles, been through successes, can be very valuable to a team and I look to provide that like he did for me.”
He says he will also be looking to create a comfortable place for the young players to turn, sharing a few laughs and “keeping the vibes in a good place” as he enters 2025.
RESTING UP FOR A BIG SEASON
Soroka will be getting plenty of Frequent Flyer Miles before he suits up for his new team.
He plans on heading to Indianapolis, where his girlfriend, Blake Mohler, plays professional volleyball.
Then Soroka says he will head to Toronto for the annual Baseball Canada banquet on Jan. 11 before coming back to Calgary to train at Webber Academy and take in his best friend’s wedding.
Before he knows it, the 2019 All-Star and Rookie of the Year candidate will be in West Palm Beach, Florida for Spring Training 2025.
Soroka believes the Nationals have a good energy, adding Martinez said something that really hit home for him.
“Getting to hear him talk about how excited they were to get me in there and get me in a Nats uniform and get some big-league hugs after each game, that obviously gets me to a good place of understanding how this club valued me right off the bad,” he said.
When asked about how he will determine what success looks like at the end of next season, he turns it back on his expectations of the team.
“Ideally, we’re pitching into the playoffs and I’ve made 30-plus starts throughout the season and helped this club get to a place where, whether it’s a wild card or the division, you give them a chance to get back into the playoffs,” said Soroka.
“We all saw what happened in 2019 with the Nats and they got into the playoffs and got hot, and are raising the trophy above their heads at the end of the season,” Soroka added.
“Anything can happen at that point and I think with a group of young guys, even moreso, that’s true. To me, that’s the only success that really matters.”
With a new team and renewed confidence, the bets are on for Soroka heading into 2025.