After moving to the bullpen with the White Sox down the stretch last year and finding great success with a 2.75 ERA and a 39% strikeout rate in 36 innings of work after converting to relief, right-hander Michael Soroka now figures to get another crack at starting in D.C. after signing a one-year deal worth $9MM. Soroka made his spring debut for his new club yesterday, posting three scoreless innings while walking one and striking out three.
Those strong results aren’t especially meaningful given the nature of Spring Training, but MASN’s Bobby Blanco noted yesterday that Soroka’s velocity was up substantially during the outing. Per Blanco, Soroka “nearly” averaged 95mph throughout the outing and topped out at 96.2mph. That’s a big step up from previous years of his career, where the right-hander has typically averaged around 93mph on his heater, with last year’s 93.5mph figure standing as his current regular season peak. One outing of just 39 pitches hardly guarantees that Soroka will be able to keep up mid-90s velocity throughout the regular season, but both Soroka himself and manager Dave Martinez appeared encouraged by the start, the latter of whom called it “very encouraging.”
“Yeah, absolutely. I think I knew I could,” Soroka said when asked about maintaining his velocity deeper into games, as relayed by Blanco. “In relief last year, for the most part, I was still throwing multiple innings. And to be honest with you, the feeling of where the fastball got to at the end of inning three was really exciting, because it feels like I can replicate it over and over again. It’s definitely the easiest I’ve ever thrown in the mid-90s… And yeah, I think after today, especially, I know I won’t have a problem, at least holding somewhere close to that.”
Soroka figures to be a fixture of the Nationals rotation this year if healthy, alongside southpaw MacKenzie Gore. Right-hander Jake Irvin, left-hander DJ Herz, lefty Mitchell Parker, veteran Trevor Williams, and NPB southpaw Shinnosuke Ogasawara are among the other candidates for the club’s Opening Day rotation as things stand. It’s a deep group of young and interesting arms, but none has posted a season that compares to Soroka at his best. A former first-round pick by Atlanta, the right-hander’s rookie campaign in 2019 was nothing short of dazzling as he posted a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts en route to a second place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Soroka’s been derailed by injury woes in the years since then, but he’s still just 27 and is coming off a healthy 2024 campaign, lending optimism to the possibility he could return to form.
Elsewhere on the roster, young outfielder James Wood is still working his way back from a bout of quad tendinitis that slowed him in the early days of camp. The injury hasn’t impacted his swing, allowing him to continue to get reps as a DH, and Spencer Nausbaum of the Washington Post laid out the club’s plan for Wood to return to the field. Wood is expected to DH in today’s spring game, and with a team off-day on Monday the club plans to get Wood some outfield work on the backfields to test his ailing quad. If that goes well, it’s possible Wood could then return to the outfield in games. Wood, 22, figures to serve as the club’s everyday left fielder in 2025 after a strong debut season where he hit .264/.354/.427 across 79 games.
Elsewhere on the diamond, infielder Luis Garcia Jr. was a late scratch from yesterday’s spring lineup and was sent home from camp due to illness. As noted by Blanco, Martinez told reporters that he wasn’t yet sure when Garcia would return to action, as the Nats don’t want Garcia passing his fever around camp. Fortunately, it seems unlikely that the illness will have any serious impact on Garcia’s ability to ramp up for Opening Day later this month. The lefty enjoyed a strong season last year as he slashed .282/.318/.444 in 528 trips to the plate.
I forgot how young Soroka is. I hope he finds success as a starter again, but given the injuries, he will eventually move to the bullpen, right?
He could stick in the rotation. Good for him. His injuries were never arm related, and though it’s all connected, him having issues earlier could make it easier for a return with quicker healing time. Glad everything is encouraging. Good to see him back slingin’.
If i remember correctly he had Shoulder issues that delayed his Braves debut. Then of course 2 freak Achilles injuries…but I’m rooting for him to succeed cause he was great when healthy
I’m happy for Soroka. It’s been a long road for him. But he should be careful to manage expectations. It won’t all be as easy as mowing down the Cardinals.
Soroka’s velocity increase is being framed as a positive, but logically, it should be viewed with caution. If he can’t sustain it, he either regresses to his old form or breaks down completely. The smart play for Washington might be planning for an eventual transition back to relief rather than assuming he can hold up as a starter.
@Old York/Skyrider..I couldn’t agree with you & Skyrider any more. Why alter something that’s working, when Soroka could profile as a + reliever?
$$$. Probably not going to make as much as a reliever.
Vikingbluejay,
Yeah, Soroka is looking at how much starters are getting paid and wants that bag. But if he becomes an effective reliever, he can cash in, just not at the same price tag as a starter. There is no shame in his body being unable to handle the workload of a starter when he can go 60 innings of relief work and still get a nice payday.
Soroka finally got on track by being a reliever, but yeah, lets move him back to the rotation where that new found velocity will put added stress on that shoulder that has given him so many issues. It might be best to leave him in the bullpen where he was successful. The Braves tried to ease him back into the rotation and he never regained his old form. With all the shoulder injuries and achilles injuries this guy has had he’s better off remaining a reliever
The Nats signed him—and he signed with the Nats—to hopefully be a starter. Just as with Williams two years before. If that doesn’t work out, he can be a reliever again. There’s always risks to pitchers whether they are starters or relievers.
His issues were much more legs than shoulder. You could make the case his arm has much fewer miles than most pitchers his age.
He was a great starter. He’s had the worst injury for any sports player, twice: the Achilles. Let him try starting again.
Maybe he can be like that prima donna Crochet and turn his 1/2 season of being decent into a contract with the Red Sox. They’re gullible enough to sign anyone
You just made that up, Ms Donna.
Crochet is a dominant pitcher destined for greatness.
Truly rooting for him. Kid was so close to being a cy young like pitcher early on and I thought he had a super bright future. Freak injuries have derailed the poor kids career. Luckily for him, a $9 mil contract could set him up for life if he’s smart with it. And I assume he’ll get more as time goes on
All his setbacks during his rehabs can be put directly on the Braves and their medical staff
He knew how to pitch when he first came up, a rare occurrence. Just stay healthy and he can have a long career. Not too much mileage on that arm.
They both basically have the same career trajectory. The Braves held onto to Soroka for 2 seasons after his Achilles injuries hoping he could regain his form which never happened. Ian Anderson seems to be on the same path now unfortunately….Ian seems to be more performance related until TJ.
Washington will be an interesting team to watch this season
I don’t know about this season but they’ll probably be pretty good next season
The reason the Braves still have Anderson instead of Soroka is because Anderson got hurt in the minors and Soroka was in the majors. Soroka was getting MLB service time for 2 years on the DL while the Braves were able to manipulate Anderson’s service time by keeping him off the 60 day dl and keeping him on the minor league dl.
In all likelihood Anderson was hurt while pitching in the majors, but making 1 start in the minors saved the Braves in this instance.
The exact opposite happened to Kerr last year. At least that is who I think it was. He was sent down to the minors but then said he was hurt. They evaluated him and before he pitched a game in the minors they had to recind the minor league assignment and put him on the major league dl which allowed him to still accure MLB service time.