The Nationals announced that they have signed right-hander Michael Soroka to a one-year deal, which reportedly comes with a $9MM salary. The club had 40-man vacancies and didn’t need to make a corresponding move. The ISE Baseball client will reportedly be used as a starter.
Soroka, 27, came into the offseason as one of the more interesting free agents available. He found success as a starting pitcher in his early 20s, back in 2019, but missed most of the 2020 to 2023 seasons due to injuries. In 2024, he struggled badly as a starter but then got moved to a bullpen role and finished the season in very strong fashion. It could have been argued that he earned himself another shot at a rotation job or that he found a role that worked for him and should continue as a reliever, though it seems he will take another shot at being a starter next year.
Prior to his 2019 breakout, Soroka was already a name to watch. He was a first-round pick of Atlanta in 2015 and found himself on top 100 prospect lists as he climbed through the minors. He debuted with five starts in 2018 and then fully cemented himself as a big leaguer in 2019, making 29 starts and logging 174 2/3 innings while allowing 2.68 earned runs per nine. His 20.3% strikeout rate was just below average but his 5.8% walk rate and 51.2% ground ball rate were both notably better than par.
That was Soroka’s age-21 season, so it seemed Atlanta had a rotation building block for years to come. Unfortunately, the baseball gods had a miserable fate in store for Soroka’s next chapter. In his third start of the shortened 2020 season, he had to be helped off the field with a leg injury, later revealed to be a torn right achilles tendon which required surgery. In 2021, he missed some time due to shoulder inflammation and later required another surgery on his achilles. He got back on the mound in 2022 and pitched in the minors, though that season was ended due to elbow soreness. In 2023, he was frequently shuttled between Triple-A and the majors and finished the season on the IL due to forearm inflammation.
After those four years in the injury wilderness, Atlanta seemingly didn’t have much faith in Soroka bouncing back. He was flipped to the White Sox in November, part of a five-for-one trade that saw Atlanta flip multiple spare parts for Aaron Bummer in a roster clearout move.
Unlike Atlanta, Chicago was aggressively rebuilding and had more bandwidth for being patient with Soroka, hoping for a bounceback. It didn’t materialize at first. Soroka started the season with nine starts but had a 6.39 ERA in those. His 46.9% grounder rate was strong but his matching strikeout and walk rates of 12.4% were both bad.
The last of those starts was on May 12. Soroka was moved to the bullpen at that point, which is when things became very interesting. He tossed 36 innings out of the bullpen in the remainder of the season with a 2.75 ERA. His 13% walk rate was oddly high and his grounder rate was just 26.5% but he managed to punch out 39% of batter’s faced.
That came with a significant change in his pitch mix. In those nine starts, he threw 22.5% four-seamers, 30.8% sinkers, 31.9% sliders and 14.7% changeups. After moving to the bullpen, he pushed towards a fastball/slider mix, with 43.2% of his pitches being the former and 41.6% the latter. His sinker and changeup rates dropped to 10.9% and 4.3%, respectively. Despite limiting his arsenal, he was effective against hitters on both sides of the plate. Righties hit just .197/.306/.296 against Soroka the reliever while lefties mustered only a .179/.299/.286 line.
Given the amount of success he had in that relief role, it might be tempting to suggest that he should stay there, but there are also counterarguments. For one thing, despite the many twists and turns in his career, Soroka is still young. He is currently 27 and won’t turn 28 until August. He might not want to give up on the possibility of being a starter just yet.
Furthermore, teams these days don’t tend to view relief success as any kind of reason to not try a guy in a starting role. In recent years, bullpen-to-rotation conversions have become all the rage, with guys like Seth Lugo, Michael King, Garrett Crochet, Reynaldo López, Jeffrey Springs and others making the move successfully. It doesn’t always work out, with A.J. Puk being one example, but even then the downside is pretty harmless as the pitcher just lands as a viable reliever as a fallback.
The Nats should be able to give Soroka a chance to earn a rotation job, at least for a while. They have some intriguing arms but most of them are fairly lacking in experience. The quartet of MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz all had decent results in 2024, with each posting an ERA of 4.41 or lower. However, Gore’s 372 2/3 career innings are the most of the bunch. Irvin is at 308 while Parker and Herz just debuted in 2024 and are below 200. Josiah Gray had UCL surgery in July and won’t be a factor until late in the 2025 season, if at all. Cade Cavalli missed all of 2023 and 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery and it’s unknown what kind of workload he can take on next year.
Washington can give Soroka a rotation gig to start the year and see how things go. If he struggles out of the gate, they can push him to the bullpen and give those starts to one of the younger pitchers. But if things go well, he can be very valuable for the Nats. If they are able to emerge from their ongoing rebuild, he can be a part of that, but he could be a midseason trade candidate even if the club isn’t ready for that step yet. Even if he’s pushed to a relief role, he could still be an interesting deadline trade candidate.
It’s also theoretically possible that he pitches his way into consideration for a qualifying offer at season’s end, as even mid-rotation or back-end guys like Nick Pivetta, Luis Severino and Nick Martinez got QOs this year. In that scenario, Soroka could stay with the Nats all year and help them make a contending push while also providing some future value at the end of the year, though that will be a concern for another day.
At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Soroka for a two-year deal worth $14MM. He has settled for a lesser guarantee but on a stronger annual value, with the chance to return to the open market a year from now. For him personally, that could be a lucrative bet, as it’s possible he will have much more earning power at the end of the 2025 season.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the Nats and Soroka were in agreement. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that it was a one-year deal worth $9MM.
BobinTexas
I love the fit with my Nats! Great flyer on a talented arm. I hope it has options for more than one year.
Gwynning
No Options, MiLB or Contract. 1yr only and can’t be shuttled.
Davejavu98
As a braves fan who followed him with the six, his pitch mix is pretty good now. I don’t know if it will work as a starter, but this is a smart flyer.
JScottG
Not a talented arm. Struggled to hit low 90’s last year.
PutPeteinthehall
Wrong. He’s lights out as a reliever. K rate at almost 40 percent. He’s a terrible starter and will end up injured again.
GooseGoslinGuy
Well, in 2019 he was a terrific starter but injuries have derailed his career. So maybe Rizzo has himself a longish reliever but if that’s the case, it’s an overpay. If he somehow recaptured his 2019 form, he’d be a big find, but…this is a dumpster dive to me. Wait and pray.
Tigers3232
@JScott His fastball averaged a career high 93.5 last season. He has always had a talented arm. Also a fragile arm but still talented.
EM41
I’m sure he will get a warm reception when he pitches in Atlanta this season. He was sensational before all of his injuries.
Jesse Chavez enthusiast
I Wish best of luck to Mike. Always seemed super humble and he was nice enough to sign an autograph for my son. It sucks to see someone get their promising career damaged by injuries. Totally unrelated but he’s a pretty decent guitar player too!
MM.MM
Braves fan here..BIG fan of Rock! I was hoping AA would bring him back at a good cost, but I understand that Mike needs to regain his form. Happy for him, still!
MRSHOWTIME
U guys can trade for him at the deadline
GooseGoslinGuy
Yes, we’ll take Harris II and Riley.
AmaralFan1
Did the Nationals really Soroka to a Major League deal after his historically terrible 2024?
boblowlaw2
Why don’t you take a look at him when he pretty much stopped throwing the two seam and changeup. He is going to be one of the best starting pitcher free agent signings of the offseason.
chiefnocahoma1
Absolutely nasty out of the pen
brocnessmonster
yup, real good finish to the year
mike127
There’s really nothing terrible about 0-10 while pitching with the White Sox. Probably was just a little bad luck.
ChipperChop
Yep. Was extremely unlucky to get traded to the White Sox and have to take the mound for that team.
Davejavu98
The braves traded him to the Sox as a favor. He didn’t have a place on the staff so they sent him somewhere he could pitch.
letitbelowenstein
First game the Nats are ahead 5-2 with two out in the fifth inning, bring Soroka in to relieve. He gets a token win, snaps that losing streak and regains any confidence he may have lost.
DarkSide830
I like this move, but NINE MILLION???
Blue Baron
How much of it are you paying?
mrbuck
Check out the costs of free agents pitchers this off season. It seems crazy but nine million is cheap.
JScottG
No it’s not fool! Canning has a much better arm and ceiling and just signed for $4.5m.
GMoney28
9 lol
Gwynning
GMoney’s opinion = lol
bwmiller79
On the high end for what I thought he might command, didn’t have a good run in the rotation with the White Sox but pitched some good innings in the bullpen, interesting stat, his K/9 at 9.5 in 2024 is the highest of his career. That could be the bullpen effect. I wonder how the Nationals intend to employ him in 2025. Im guessing at 9M he is going to be in a starting role.
Blue Baron
Maybe
El Kabong
I hope this works out. Michael Soroka was one of my favorite pitchers to watch in 2019. A rookie unafraid of pitching to contact even though everyone knew the balls were juiced. I will always root for him.
Edp007
Who’s his agent ? Boras? Great job !
Nacho Cheese
ISE. Says right there in the article.
El Kabong
Reading requires too much effort for many Americans. Lazy is the new cool.
metsin4
Kind of like stereotyping. Laziest thing you could possibly do.
El Kabong
What would you call a person who comments on an article they haven’t read? Industrious?
metsin4
Well you just put over 320 million people in the same category for no reason whatsoever.
El Kabong
I did not. Read the first of the two sentences in the post you’re commenting on. Or is that too much effort for you?
metsin4
You didn’t say reading requires too much effort for Americans? You most certainly did.
El Kabong
Below is the sentence I wrote. Notice how it’s different than what you claim I wrote.
“Reading requires too much effort for many Americans.”
stymeedone
Lazy is NOT cool.
Edp007
But who was the agent? the person who was assigned to Mike.
Edp007
I’m not American and I asked who the agent was ? I didn’t ask what firm. Y’all can’t read. Who the person was ?
Social media … everyone jumps to attack.
Lindor's Bodyguard
Learned helplessness is the term.
believeitornot
He is just using what I call trumpspeak. He is exaggerating what you said. You will hear a lot of it starting January 20th.
ForDoingNothing
These contracts are so insane
Soroka is awful
Gwynning
Ummmm, newsflash! Mike is in The Bigs
El Kabong
Do you know what’s more insane? A person who gets paid minimum wage for a job they’re not good at. Worse, they expect a raise or promotion for sucking at the job.
GooseGoslinGuy
Yes, a total dumpster dive. He could’ve been had for half, I bet. And, until proven otherwise for real, he does look potentially very awful.
ccahoe02
Thats more than the rays starting rotation combined
BITA
9 million? Yuck
Gwynning
Honestly, Blackpink… why do you care? You’d rather a rich owner stay rich(er)? Pay the players, they make the League! I never understood why fans care about contracts/amounts *especially* if it’s not even your team.
BITA
Yes paying players is good. But overpaying a player hoping he’s something he’s not isnt good. Soroka hasn’t been good since 2020. He doesn’t deserve 9 million for 1 season.
Gwynning
Says… you? Real-life MLB GMs and POBOs disagree. I think they know the market. Cheers fella
BITA
Just because a team signs a guy doesn’t make it a good signing. See Bogaerts, Xander.
Gwynning
Again, your opinion.
🙂
BITA
Yes it is. I am allowed to have an opinion. Why this bothers you I don’t know.
NashvilleJeff
@blackpink/BITA/and your many other screen names: Opinions from others bother you so much you attack them on a regular basis. After you’re done doing that, you ban them so they can’t respond to your garbled babble.
YankeesBleacherCreature
@NashvilleJeff
Joel P had asked me to mute him and I’ve obliged. He keeps rearing his dorky face with with his patented wild takes with yet another new username.
stymeedone
Its not the amount. He’s complaining who it was paid to.
BITA
Yes the Nationals should be saving their money for Alonso or more reliable pitchers. This guy is a complete lottery ticket.
Gwynning
It doesn’t bother me and I have no problem with you having an opinion, Blackpink. Do you have a problem that my opinion is usually the polar opposite of yours? I just don’t understand WHY you continually care WHAT players get paid. It’s weird to me and I have asked you multiple times WHY you care… but change the subject again, it’s cool. Does Alonso pitch?
Gwynning
stymee, his OG post was about the money. He can speak for himself.
BITA
Teams only have so much to spend they have a budget. Spending 9 million in Soroka isn’t a good way to spend that money. If you think otherwise great.
Gwynning
Fair enough!
🙂
Pads Fans
Gwynning. reality is the opposite of Joel’s opinion. Everyone disagrees with him.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Gwynning
Even a broken analog clock is right twice per day. I have to agree with black pink that I dislike this contract. He is not QO material so if he has a pretty good season, he is gone after a year. I don’t think the Nats will make the post-season this year. If the Nats wanted to sign him, offer two years at 7 million each with a team buy out for two million the second year. That way, if he is good they have him in 2026. Always happy to see teams spend, but in this case I would have spent the money differently. I hope Mike has a great season, but I see a lot of risk and not much upside long-term unless they can move him at trade deadline.
Tigers3232
@@Joel The Nats seem to have a different opinion. I’m gonna have to say I trust what their front office believer over your opinion and mine for that matter.
I will say I think the cost is a bit high for Soroka if he’s pitching relief. I also am skeptical his arm cam hold upto the demand of starting. I guess time will tell here.
I don’t think signing Soroka would have any impact on Alonso if they have any interest in him. Nats have shown a willingness to spend when the times have been right. The have built up some nice young talent, they might just feel they are ready to start adding to it. They play in a tough division so I could see them holding off for a season or 2 before truly spending a bunch making a push.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
I don’t think the Nationals have a likely path above or below 4th in the division in 2025. I could easily see them signing Paul Goldschmidt on a one to two year deal at $8 to $10 million per year. He might be a good mentor for some of the younger players, I am not sure how much Goldschmidt has left in the tank.
Tigers3232
I agree Goldy would be a good mentor. I’m kind of hoping to see Tigers sign him in the role you described. I do think the decline is real and not just an off year. I do think he still can provide some value on the field, I like the potential for him lacing doubles across spacious Comerica OF.
JoeBrady
You’d rather a rich owner stay rich(er)?
==========================
1-I don’t care how they chop up my beer money, though I’d rather the vendor get more rather than making millionaire players even richer.
2-I’m not sure why we cannot have an opinion on whether a contract is good or bad. I was fine with the Tatis contract when a lot of people thought it was too high, and I thought Bogaerts was $100M overpaid
I see nothing inherently wrong with that.
Pads Fans
Joe. I would rather the brewer get more of my beer money. That is the players. The owners create nothing. Without the players, there is no beer.
JoeBrady
Pads Fans
Joe. I would rather the brewer get more of my beer money.
======================
It’s just a personal note here, but the NYY had this elderly black woman serving me Heineken on tap. Beautiful smile, always gracious. I no longer see her there, so I hope she is doing well.
But that said, there is something to be said about rewarding master brewers for their craft.
Niekro floater
If owners really didn’t have the money u wouldn’t see these monster deals that a few players have secured already.
GooseGoslinGuy
It’s a sign of poor valuation if they are overpaying for a guy with serious injury issues and poor recent performance. So they see something in him, cool. But he is not worth yet what they are paying him. That is money that could be spent better, and hopefully on a better known commodity. This is like a bad Vegas gamble. But gosh we sure hope it works out!
Edub23
Some great bargains recently. Canning with an ERA of 5.19 last year sliding into the Mets rotation and now 0-10 Soroka last year signing for only $9M
jdgoat
He was utterly dominant as a reliever last year. Even if it doesn’t work out, no harm in trying to replicate that on a one year deal.
Also, how is he only 27??
jdgoat
Don’t like it as a starter though, but again hard to go wrong on a one year guarantee
920falcon
Yeah, I’m with you. I would look at him as strictly a bullpen piece, and, potentially an excellent one.
GooseGoslinGuy
He was only 21 at the start of his excellent 2019 year.
CaseyAbell
It’s the new world order. Nine mill is chump change for anybody who’s remotely credible as a starting pitcher. Who knows, maybe Soroka will get back to being a competent starter. But if a club wants to play in this offseason’s pitching market, get ready for sticker shock.
Pads Fans
Casey, did you hear Mets fans screaming about Canning getting $4 million?
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Samuel
“Turned a ‘coroner’”, was that intentional? LOL
Marlins are not a year from catching Nationals, but I agree with the part that Nats are a long way from catching Phils, Mets and Atlanta.
Samuel
The Nats better do something here.
The young position players are fine. But MLB is about pitching….
and particularly bullpens.
DM_Nats
That’s cool and all but we want Walker and another bat.
Atlanta Jack
I really was hoping the White Sox would bring him back. Not a good look for Chris Getz.
Dumpster Divin Theo
Not at 9m tho
Niekro floater
Think a 1 year prove it deal for $5 Million is excessive based on his performance. $9 Million for a struggling P w/serious injury history ? Crazy.
Atlanta Jack
Holy cow that’s a lot of money.
Cambo
That’s only half what Dombrowski pays Taijuan Walker a year. Bargain!
TrillionaireTeamOperator
I always wonder how a guy like this gets that specific salary. $9M seems so arbitrary and also for a pitcher with his numbers…. how? I feel like it was only a few years ago a pitcher like Soroka would have only commanded $2.5M to $3.5M for his performance. Multiple injury lost seasons with awful ERA’s, etc. and he secured NINE MILLION DOLLARS.
I don’t get it. But it’s par for the course in this modern era of bloated pitcher salaries.
stymeedone
Romano didn’t get that much and he is going to be the closer in Philly. $9MM for a middle reliever is a bit much.
MRSHOWTIME
This looks like a total flip deal.
Nasty Nats hoping to get 2 months of healthy solid innings and they will cash in on a decent prospect package
Come Late June, every contender will be looking for pitching esp starting pitching
Samuel
MRSHOWTIME;
What? Are the Nationals a farm club developing pitchers for other MLB teams?
I don’t see 3 decent pitchers on their ML roster. The best that can be said is that a few are young and show potential…..but they’re no longer rookies.
All these comments about the Nationals have turned a coroner in their rebuild and it might be time to bring in a position player
like Alonso for big bucks. How exactly is that team ready to compete with (in alphabetical order) the Braves, Mets, and Phillies in the NL East?…..and in one year there’s a very good chance that the Marlins pass them.
nanyuanb
Agree with signing bats. But not sure if NATS have to be all in now. The stars in Braves and Phillies rosters are getting older and the SPs are expensive this offseason. The Marlins had their best chances two seasons ago when they had a promising rotation. And now they are not as good as they were.
For the NATS, none of their young men have established themselves as solid cores for the NATS to bet on to build the team as a WS contender. They need Abrams, Wood, Crews to grow into the former Turner, Soto and Harper(not likely, but at least they need to be all-star calibre). They don’t have another Strasburg for sure and will need to sign a FA. A lot of work to do and it’s unlikely they should panic and push themselves.
braves95 2
Good move for both sides. He gets another shot to prove himself as a starter. They are terrible and can afford to try this experiment. And if it fails, you can move him back to the bullpen where he was lights out for Chicago and possibly trade him to a contender come July.
This one belongs to the Reds
When they tried to see if I could pitch, I walked the bases loaded and struck out the side.
Today I could have made 9 million!
Acoss1331
Not coming back to the White Sox is for the best. The Nationals are on the upside, he’s going to do much better with them.
Pads Fans
All I can say is wow. #5-#6 starters are sure expensive.
Acoss1331
Corbin Burnes and Scott Boras must be popping champagne bottles with these deals, he’s going to get quite the bag!
Pads Fans
I got shot down pretty hard when I said that Burnes was going to get 8/252 after the Snell signing. Its looking more and more like that is what it will take.
YankeesBleacherCreature
That’s actually light. Burnes is going to be close to if not over $300M.
Pads Fans
YBC, do you think he will get more than the 8 years that Fried got or more than the $36 million AAV that Snell got, or both?
YankeesBleacherCreature
Burnes is effectively a year younger than Fried. I think 9 years at ~$30M AAV after deferrals. Snell is at 32/33 and I liked his deal better than Fried’s for the Yankees.
Pads Fans
Gross AAV before deferrals is $36.4 million for Snell.
9/30 is obviously 270.
DCDude2007
As a Nationals fan, I actually love this signing. It will work similar to how Trevor Williams did with the Nats as a swingman. Maybe that’s how it’ll go until Cade Cavalli comes back from injury.
920falcon
Been waiting two years for Cavalli. Truthfully, at this point, I have doubts about Cavalli ever doing anything meaningful in the majors.
GooseGoslinGuy
Funny how it goes. The highly touted Cavalli is now a question mark, but guys no one ever really heard of — Irvin, Parker, Herz — have emerged as promising young starters. Nats need some bats to support them. A banger at 1B or 3B would be awesome.
DCDude2007
Goose Goslin Guy,
For first base maybe we can try and haul in Walker or Alonso which would be huge, or a short term option like Bell, Santana, etc.
Third base, we can grab Bregman in free agency or try to trade for someone. I don’t see Arenado as a possibility, but maybe if we can get somebody to play until House is ready, that would be beneficial (Baty or Suarez are also on the trade market)
I wasn’t thinking of a Soroka for Mike Rizzo, more likely like a Flaherty or Buehler or a Heaney or Scherzer even. But this could work for us if we do well with him or he could be good in the ‘pen like 2024.
Also, DH is a hole. Santander is a potential option, along with JD Martinez or Joc Pederson.
I like the idea of adding some bullpen help to cover Finnegan. The Nats were connected to guys like Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson in MLBTR’s top 50 list, but guys like Fairbanks, Bednar, Pressly, or Helsley are also available via the trade market.
Here’s how I want Mike Rizzo to do iit:
Starting Rotation-1 Gore, 2 Irvin, 3 Soroka, 4 Parker, 5 Herz
Closing Pitcher Ideas: Robertson, Fairbanks, or Helsley
Relief-Garcia, Ferrer, Brzycky, etc. (some more arms would be helpful)
Starting Lineup:
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Christian Walker or Pete Alonso
2B Luis Garcia Jr.
3B Bregman or someone else to fill-in (also linked to Gleyber Torres)
SS CJ Abrams
DH Santander, Pederson, or Martinez
LF James Wood
CF Jacob Young
RF Dylan Crews
Mike Rizzo will need to be effective if the Nats want to compete in 2025. With good quality bats and a young core, plus young pitching and a solid bullpen, we could see a Washington return to the postseason in 2025.
highflyballintorightfield
If anyone picked this right in the contest, they should be just be declared the winner.
920falcon
Agreed.
JoeBrady
I liked him for my RS, but $9M is not cheap.
NYCityRiddler
0-10 last year an almost a 5.00 ERA, for $9M, that sounds ABOUT RIGHT! Ahahahaha!
Prunella Vulgaris
His defenders sucked. Run/Loss record not entirely his fault.
disadvantage
@NY
A 5.00+ ERA, contender for most losses, and overpriced pitcher in Washington?
He’ll leave right where Patrick Corbin left off!
jimk
36 innings from May-Sept. gets a $9,000,000 deal? After four consecutive lousy years, all with debilitating injuries, and paid for by the Braves? So much for Soroka’s “controllable” years.
When a young player is injured maybe stop the clock on his progress to arbitration and free agency. Suspend and extend team-friendly status.
Salary inflation in baseball has reached too far down the food chain. Bad enough mid-market clubs have to bid against hedge fund gazillionaires. Those years when a player is “under team control” are the only thing left separating MLB from standings based on owner net worth.
JoeBrady
It’s similar to what the Angels did with Stephenson. Stephenson had 16 good innings to end 2023, after having a very mediocre career, and the Angels gave him $33M/3.
I like Soroka better.
GooseGoslinGuy
Stephenson? Who he?
JoeBrady
That’s what I asked when they signed him. He had a career ERA of 4.90 (ERA+ of 93) through 2022. From opening day through 8/9/23, he had an ERA 4.21. The very height of mediocrity.
Then, in his last 16 innings, he had an ERA of 0.56. The Angels thought that these 16IPs meant that he was now one of the best RPs in BB and rewarded him with $33M/3.
And this in a world where the RS paid Martin $17M/2.
greatgame 2
0-10 with a 4.94 FIP and 9M?? OK this is beyond silly. So done with baseball.
Lindor's Bodyguard
This is overreaction!
TheFuzzofKing
Splash.
Tom the ray fan
Replace mike soroka for my sharona and you get the same thing
Lindor's Bodyguard
Mike Sobroka.
Fred McGriff HR
Good luck to Michael Soroka, I hope he pitches well against everyone except the Braves.
skarn51
Honestly I think this is a great move. I think now that he’s off the white sox he’ll do a lot better
nanyuanb
The worst outcome for the Nats is a 9M better RP. The best outcome is a good SP whose mid-season trade value is higher than 9M plus half a season of innings. Fair contract.
YourDreamGM
Good as reliever. As starter they have some work to do. I haven’t seen him lately so no idea what can fix him.
LordD99
He has the makings of a dynamite reliever. They should leave him as that.
Dorothy_Mantooth
Someone needs to create a walkout song for him. I’m thinking a play on the Knack’s My Sharona.
“Gotta get a stop, not a walk
Got to work hard to stay on top
I’m talking Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike Woo
M-m-m-m-m Mike Soroka!
(For those of a certain age. I’m aorry if you start singing this in your head now)
Non Roster Invitee
The Knack ” Get the Knack” is actually a really fun pop rock album.
GooseGoslinGuy
There’s a fiddler lady in Canada who already has a version parodying that exact song. It’s very funny, and she plays good fiddle. Saw it on X.
LordD99
It was. The Knack would be making a ton of money on today’s retro tours. RIP Doug Fieger.
920falcon
You’re going to pay for that.
ChicagoTommy
A+!
I own it on vinyl, and yes it still kicks ass.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Hard to take seriously the speculation that Nats might give him a QO.
Niekro floater
He’d have to have lights-out year to pull that off. Gota root for em.
JScottG
$9m is whack!
Dumpster Divin Theo
Overpay. Glass
MacGromit
SOB! I really wanted the Orioles to sign him. 2 yrs as predicted would have been fine.
Nats inked him on a 1 yr deal at $9MM?
I think that Elias has been napping in the office. lol. No more turkey sandwiches for the GM until he signs a TOR and 1 or 2 decent bullpen pieces. Job’s not done. Nuts. I thought Soroka would be a good swing man and utility piece in the pen.
LordD99
Could be that the Nats were the one team to guarantee him a chance to start again.
JoeBrady
I agree 100%. I was hoping that my RS would offer him 3 years with some sort of options attached on both sides. My guess is that he wasn’t taking any offer that didn’t include a slot in the rotation, but I’d have made a fair offer with the understanding that he’d be a high-leverage BP piece/6th SP, with the understanding that he’d be in the running to replace Giolito in 2026.
GooseGoslinGuy
Another Rizzo Dumpster Dive Special. Should help guarantee another 71-91 season. So, not going after Walker Buehler?
dennisv23
I say this as a White Sox fan, so please have pity on me, got to watch Soroka pitch in both roles last season. His numbers as a starter weren’t all his own doing. The Sox defense was absolutely horrendous early in the season but got a little better as the season progressed. Soroka isn’t going to put up gaudy strikeout numbers but if he has a solid defense behind him he has a chance to be a solid starter.
johncoltrane
How does a guy who went 0-10 get $9mil???
Not worth 99 cents
Niekro floater
Gota have talent to lose alot of games, otherwise they wouldn’t keep parading you out there. Showing something that keeps em in big leagues even w/his poor performance.