According to The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal, Soroka is in agreement with the Washington Nationals on a one-year deal worth nine million dollars.
Soroka spent 2024 with the Chicago White Sox, working as a starter and a reliever. He was much more effective once he moved to the bullpen, carrying a 2.75 ERA and .189 batting average against while striking out 39 per cent of the hitters he faced in relief.
Earlier this off-season, The Athletic reported that teams view Soroka as a candidate to return to the rotation in 2025. However, it is currently unclear how the Nationals will choose to deploy the 27-year-old next summer.
The Calgary native has battled multiple injuries throughout his career, including two Achilles tendon tears. In 2019, Soroka emerged as one of the best young starters in baseball with the Atlanta Braves, earning a trip to the All-Star Game, Cy Young votes and a second-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
His efforts in 2019 earned him the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award, which goes to the “Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals.”
Injuries cost the six-foot-five righty to miss most of 2020 and all of 2021 and 2022. Since returning, he owns a 5.22 ERA in 112 innings.
Last November, Soroka was traded from Atlanta to the White Sox as part of a package for reliever Aaron Bummer.