An old Braves friend could emerge in a new role this offseason. As Mike Petriello of MLB.com outlined, Michael Soroka, the reliever, could end up being a popular free agent, and one of the Braves’ rivals is interested. Mike Mayer reports that the Mets have shown interest in the 27-year-old.
Last offseason, Soroka was traded to the White Sox in a six-player deal that sent veteran reliever Aaron Bummer to Atlanta. Soroka was out of options and was never going to contribute in the Braves rotation. As gut-wrenching as it was to part ways with a fan favorite, there was no better option, and it felt like he could use a change of scenery.
Unfortunately, his time in Chicago didn’t go well. Soroka posted an unsightly 6.75 ERA across nine starts while allowing opposing hitters to accumulate an .856 OPS. Granted, the White Sox were putrid and never helped him out, but the pitcher formerly known as the Maple Maddux was a shell of himself.
It looked like he was never going to be the pitcher he once was with the Braves in 2019, but a move to the bullpen and a tweak to his approach benefited him greatly. Soroka found something, something to the tune of a 2.75 ERA and 39% strikeout rate, which is up there with the best bullpen arms in the game.
“But once he moved to relief, the sinker dropped to 11%, with the four-seamer (43%) and slider (41%) taking precedence. And in those three September games, things really accelerated: 55% four-seamers, 44% sliders, and one single changeup. He was a two-pitch pitcher. The formerly-prominent sinker? Nowhere to be found. Not even one,” Petriello wrote about Soroka’s chages.
Still 27-years-old, there’s hope Michael Soroka can carve out a role for himself at the major-league level again, and do so immediately. The Mets aren’t the only team interested, and I wouldn’t even count out a reunion with the Braves. He has upside as a reliever, and a move back to the rotation shouldn’t be out of the cards either. All of Braves Country would love to see Michael Soroka succeed, but hopefully, it’s with anyone other than a division rival.
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