Michael Soroka Explains Why He Signed with the Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks' newest starter met with the media to talk about his signing.

Jul 23, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka (34) throws to the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, the newest Arizona Diamondbacks starter introduced himself — right-hander Michael Soroka, who the D-backs signed to a one-year, $7.5 million deal early this offseason.

Arizona was in dire need of rotation help, and Soroka was an arm they had attempted to acquire in the past. It was the first external pitching addition to the major league staff this offseason.

Soroka met with members of the media to discuss a variety of topics, including why he ultimately came to Arizona.

It will come as little surprise that the idea of living in Arizona appealed to Soroka. The native of Calgary, Alberta (Canada) has called Phoenix home for the last year and a half — as many MLB players do.

"It's kind of a dream scenario, everybody wants to be able to live in their house all year and be able to compete for this organization," Soroka said.

"I grew up coming down here quite a bit when I was a kid, actually. ... But for me, personally, I've always liked it out here. I like to be able to see when I'm driving, I like to be able to see for long ways; that's the way Calgary is.

"You've got the mountains to the west, but other than that, it's all prairie and land and feels a little more like home. ... It's been easy to settle into and it's a place I love," he said.

But it wasn't just the scenery of the Valley that stood out to the righty. He's quite familiar with the Diamondbacks, as an opponent. Perhaps more so than he'd like.

"I think over the last couple years, [the D-backs] have given me some tough times. They've had a really good team put together and a really tough team to play against. So for me, that's one more lineup that I don't have to worry about," he said, with a smile.

"It's an organization that I've looked at over the last two, three, four years as a really up-and-coming one. ... I pitched against them in May and I wasn't the same pitcher, I didn't have the same stuff or command at that point, but I still said it was the toughest game I had all year."

Soroka spent his first four seasons with the Braves and 2024 with the White Sox before splitting 2025 between the Nationals and Cubs. He said he was not aware he had been a target of Arizona's in the past.

"It's awesome to know that there's people out there that see something," he said. "Obviously this will be team four in the last couple of years now. I've learned a lot from all these different places and I'm very thankful for those. It's time to apply a lot of that and... prove the Diamondbacks right."

Soroka owns a career 3.85 ERA, though that dipped to a 4.52 figure in 2025. Of course, outside of the surface-level run-prevention numbers, the one area that does stand out as a concern is his history of injury.

Soroka said he feels as if he's been able to figure out some internal changes and delivery tweaks to extend his longevity. In fact, his personal training staff is already in the Phoenix area.

"I think we've done a good job addressing those things. It's a process. And I think that's ultimately the number one goal is to just be out there all year. So be out there all year and throw a lot of innings and I think we'll be in a good place," he said.

"[The Diamondbacks are] taking a bit of a gamble on the injury stuff. And I understand that, and I want nothing more than to prove them right."