Ex-Braves All-Star Pitcher Tabbed As Possible Royals Reclamation Project

Should Kansas City snag this power arm?

Apr 10, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of an Atlanta Braves hat on the field during batting practice at Truist Park. The game against the New York Mets was postponed due to impending weather. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals may not have the spending power of some of Major League Baseball's big-market teams, but they can still improve their roster this winter.

Much of that work is already underway, as the Royals have thus far re-signed Michael Wacha and traded for Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer. But other areas of the roster haven't yet been tackled, and there are some vacant spots on the pitching staff that could specifically be addressed.

There's room for more starting pitching help, but the bullpen is also fairly thin, which could lead the Royals to sign a pitcher who has the potential to fill either need. Those types of pitchers are becoming more common in an era where starters are going less deep into games.

Recently, Max Rieper of Royals Review named ex-Atlanta Braves All-Star Michael Soroka as a possible swingman for the Royals in 2024, since he pitched out of the bullpen in the second half of the season for the Chicago White Sox.

"Michael Soroka is one of the younger names on this list at age 27, and he could have more interest in his services due to a huge spike in strikeout rate this year," Rieper said. "But he still posted a 4.74 ERA and 4.95 FIP with high walk rates and small sample size caveats apply."

"Soroka was an All-Star in 2019, but has had some bad injury luck since then, so there is talent there if he can return to form."

In that brilliant 2019 season, Soroka pitched to a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts and finished sixth in National League Cy Young voting. Unfortunately, he was limited to 10 appearances in the next four seasons, then encountered major struggles in his bid to come back as a starter in Chicago.

However, Soroka appeared to find his next calling out of the bullpen, posting a 2.75 ERA in 16 appearances as a reliever and striking out a ridiculous 60 batters in 36 innings pitched. If he can carry that production into a multi-inning role with the Royals (or anyone), he'll be incredibly valuable.

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