Washington Nationals Veteran Looking To Provide Good 'Vibes' in Clubhouse

After being brought in this offseason on a short-term deal, the Washington Nationals new pitcher is hoping to boost this clubhouse.

Apr 25, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Michael Soroka (40) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Target Field / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

It's hard to be considered a veteran at 27 years old, but that's exactly what Michael Soroka is going to be in the Washington Nationals clubhouse this season.

He was added on a one-year deal, seemingly to be the stopgap solution until some of the other top arms in the organization are ready to truly take over the rotation.

For a previous first-round pick at his age, that's rare to see.

Even with the injury-riddled career he's had to this point that saw him miss all of 2021 and 2022 with an original Achilles tear that resulted in a retear when he tried to make his comeback, someone who owns a 3.67 ERA and 120 ERA+ across his 69 outings and 52 starts normally is viewed as a long-term buy-low candidate.

Soroka will have to prove he's still that guy after going 0-10 with a 4.74 ERA across his 25 outings and nine starts as a member of the Chicago White Sox this past season that saw him get moved out of the rotation into the bullpen.

The Nationals are providing him that opportunity.

It could be his final chance to prove to teams he can still be a starting piece, and because of that, he very easily could just focus on himself.

But that's not what Soroka is planning on doing in Washington.

"A cool thing to be able to do is make friends with the guys that are coming up and kind of show them how to be a big leaguer ... Being a presence in the clubhouse, getting some laughs, getting things going and keeping the vibes in a good place, that's really important," he said per Jessica Camerato of MLB.com.

That's going to be needed for this Nationals group.

It's well documented just how young this roster is going to be, hence why the 27-year-old Soroka will be stepping into this type of role.

He'll use his experience from when he was a youngster in the veteran-laden Atlanta Braves clubhouse to help this group in whatever way he can.

Hopefully that comes with some success for himself.

While it's largely expected that Soroka will be part of this rotation on Opening Day, there are tons of other options Washington can turn to if he's not performing.