Great First Outing by Washington Nationals Offseason Signing Is Promising Sign
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The Washington Nationals took a flyer on Michael Soroka this offseason.
There's no doubt about the talent the right-hander possesses.
It got him selected 28th overall in the 2015 draft, but a litany of injuries has prevented him from reaching his ceiling, something he showcased in 2019 when he finished runner-up in National League Rookie of the Year voting by producing a 2.68 ERA and 171 ERA+ across his 29 starts.
Since then, though, Soroka made three starts in 2020 before being put on the shelf for the next two seasons until making his return in 2023 where he had seven outings.
That absence was a result of two separate Achilles tears, brutal injuries for any athlete, let alone a pitcher.
Soroka struggled with the Chicago White Sox last year, getting moved into the bullpen after nine starts and finishing with an 0-10 record and 4.74 ERA and ERA+ that was 13 points below the league average across his 25 total appearances.
Still, for $9 million, the Nationals thought this risk was worth it.
While Washington has a group of talented young arms beyond the top two of MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin, they are either unproven or only just made their debuts last season.
So, Soroka is getting a chance to get his career back on track, and in his spring debut, he looked sharp.
"He was really good. Looked like he had a lot left in the tank. He threw the ball really well. Really well," manager Dave Martinez said about Soroka's outing, per Bobby Blanco of MASN.
It's hard to argue with that.
He threw three scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up zero hits but one walk to prevent it from being a perfect outing, striking out three batters along the way as well.
"I felt pretty good. I felt a little amped up early ... Then kind of clicked it all into place at the back end of the first inning and let it ride. So I felt pretty good about the adjustments I made. That's just kind of everything I guess you could ask for in your first time out there," Soroka said.
Those are the type of performances Washington is expecting out of the 27-year-old.
The $9 million they're paying Soroka makes him the highest-paid pitcher on the team, a status that means he needs to produce these types of outings during the regular season.
But that's down the road.
For now, what Soroka just did in his spring debut is promising as he continues to build towards the start of the year.
