Nationals' Michael Soroka: Sharp in Thursday's outing
Rotowire
Soroka gave up one run on four hits over four innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals. He struck out six without walking a batter.
The right-hander built up to 61 pitches (37 strikes) as he faced a number of St. Louis regulars, including Nolan Arenado, Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn. Injuries looked like they had completely derailed Soroka's career, but he found some success last season in the bullpen for the White Sox, and he's now in camp with the Nats looking to prove he still has something to offer as a starter. So far so good for Soroka, who's delivered a 9:1 K:BB through his first seven spring innings.
Soroka walked one and struck out three over three scoreless, no-hit innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.
Facing a St. Louis lineup that featured a number of likely Opening Day starters, Soroka got Willson Contreras to ground into a double play to end the first inning before including Nolan Gorman and Pedro Pages among his strikeout victims over his final two frames. Soroka is attempting to prove he can still be an effective big-league starting pitcher after finishing 2024 in the bullpen for the White Sox, signing a one-year, $9 million prove-it deal with the Nats in December. The double-play grounder might have been a better sign on that front than the Ks -- during his one outstanding campaign in 2019 with Atlanta, Soroka recorded a 51.2 percent groundball rate, a mark that sunk to 40.3 percent last season.
Soroka agreed to terms on a one-year, $9 million contract with the Nationals on Thursday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
Soroka started last season with a 6.39 ERA and 1.51 WHIP after nine starts with the White Sox. His performance improved dramatically after moving to the bullpen, posting a 2.75 ERA and 1.22 WHIP alongside a 60:20 K:BB over 36 frames as a reliever. The Nationals will attempt to transition Soroka back into a starting role, per Andrew Golden of The Washington Post, but given the 27-year-old's injury history and the fact he hasn't reached 100 innings since 2019, the Nationals may look to limit his workload.
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