Former Atlanta Braves Prospect Michael Soroka Generating Interest as Starting Pitcher

Though he had success out of the bullpen last season for the Chicago White Sox, Soroka is generally viewed as a starting pitcher in free agent circles.

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Michael Soroka (40) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Target Field on April 25. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

According to a report in The Athletic, free agent pitcher Michael Soroka is drawing interest as a starting pitcher in the market.

Most teams that have met with free-agent pitcher Michael Soroka prefer him as a back-end starter with front-line potential, not as a reliever, despite his better numbers from the bullpen last season, league sources said.

A former top prospect with the Atlanta Braves, Soroka spent the 2024 season with the woeful Chicago White Sox after coming over in the trade for reliever Aaron Bummer. He went 0-10 for the season as the White Sox raced out to the worst record in modern baseball history (41-121). He started nine games and appeared as a reliever in 16 others. He had a 4.74 ERA for the season and struck out 84 batters in 79.2 innings.

Soroka made his major league debut with the Braves back in the 2018 season and proceeded to go 15-5 through his first 34 games. He made the All-Star Game in 2019 and looked like a front line ace until disaster struck on the injury front. He made just three appearances in 2020 because of an Achilles injury and then missed all of 2021 and 2022 with additional injuries and complications. He returned with Atlanta to make seven appearances in 2023, but he had a 6.40 ERA and was dealt in the aforementioned trade last offseason.

There's no word yet on who the market is for Soroka but several teams are in need of starting pitchers, including the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals, just to name a few. As the Los Angeles Dodgers showed last season, you can never have enough starting pitching.

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