Last weekend, right-hander Michael Soroka stepped up on stage at the Baseball Canada Banquet and Fundraiser to accept the Larry J. Pearson Alumni Award, with fellow Canadian baseball players and folks from the organization in attendance.

It wasn’t the first time Soroka has been honoured by Baseball Canada – he earned the Stubby Clapp Award last winter – but this year, the 27-year-old was present to accept the honour. Last January, a snowstorm out west delayed his flight and he didn’t arrive until the event was over in the early morning hours.

“It’s always such an honour to receive an award from Baseball Canada,” said Soroka, speaking to Blue Jays Nation. “I owe a lot of people a ton of credit for helping me get to where I am today.”

This past season was a trying time for Soroka, as the Chicago White Sox were easily the worst franchise in the Major Leagues last season with their 41-121 record – modern-day age record for losses. He earned a spot in the rotation to start the campaign and made seven starts for the club before being moved to the bullpen.

A shoulder strain in mid-July put him on the IL for the next couple of months but he returned in late September, finding his rhythm to close out the season in the relief corps.

“A small shoulder strain is nothing compared to the years of issues I’ve had with my ankle,” said Soroka. “Injuries happen in this game but the biggest point is to take that information on why it happened and learn from it to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It all comes with preparation and I didn’t let it (the strain) get too far and didn’t try to push through that to make it worse. I feel like I came out the other side and felt better than when I went on the IL and I think the results echoed that.”

Before converting to the bullpen, Soroka posted a 6.76 FIP through 43 2/3 innings and nine starts, striking out 24 batters while walking 24 and hosting a 1.512 WHIP. In the bullpen, the former Braves hurler was finding more success, posting a 2.75 ERA through 16 outings. He allowed just 11 earned runs in that span and saw a significant increase in his strikeout numbers, sitting down 60 opposing batters while crafting a 1.22 WHIP in the process.

While Soroka wasn’t in the rotation, he was the go-to long man for the White Sox at times, with nine of his 16 outings being two or more innings in length. He hit the four-inning mark twice in that span and allowed only two or more runs through three of those relief outings – a strong turnaround for the Junior National Team alum who was trying to craft a strong season on a dismal White Sox squad.

“I think it ended where I wanted it to and in a good place,” said Soroka. “I made the adjustments I wanted to make during the year and having the opportunity to do that in a healthy way to finish out the season I think is a blessing. I think I tried to do a little too much out of the gate and changed too many of the wrong things during the previous offseason and I had to really work hard to make the necessary tweaks I felt were needed.”

A free agent this winter, Soroka had numerous suitors for his services. The calls varied from team to team. Some saw him as a long-man in the bullpen while others saw him as a Ross Stripling-esq filler type – depth in the bullpen and can start in a pinch if needed. A few were also interested in him being in the rotation again.

“Quite a few teams reached out this offseason and there were some teams that were interested in me starting again, which is great to see. A good chunk of teams wanted me in a swing role or as additional depth in the bullpen, but I am not ready to give up a chance in the rotation at this time.”

Eventually, it was the Washington Nationals who signed him, with the right-hander inking a one-year deal at $9 million.

“The first thing I was looking for was another crack in the rotation and I feel like that is where my skillset lies best,” said Soroka. “I didn’t get a chance to show that off last year before I was moved to the pen and while I tried to earn my way back, it just didn’t shake out that way. I did do enough in the bullpen through multiple-inning outings with Chicago to show that I can still throw a bunch of innings in the big leagues out of the rotation and teams took notice, which is a positive. I believe I still have some of the best years ahead of me and the Nationals felt the same way and saw that in me and had some availability in the rotation as well. We were on the same page on many factors and everything fell into place quickly.”

An All-Star back in 2019 and the runner-up for the NL Rookie of the Year Award that same year, many believe that Soroka can find his groove again as a starter and will hopefully find more success in that role on a Nationals squad that is turning to some younger stars at the big league level – led by CJ Abrams, James Wood, and Dylan Crews.

In the rotation, Mackenzie Gore leads the group while Soroka will also have to compete against Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, Trevor Williams, and DJ Herz for an opportunity to start for the Nats this year. Josiah Gray will be on the IL for almost all of this season.

The short-term deal works in Soroka’s favour – a ‘prove it’ type of contract to show that he can be a big league starter.

Looking ahead, Soroka is putting behind his short stay with the White Sox and is turning towards the future with the Nationals, one that will hopefully see him find success once again in the rotation.

“Number one was to address a couple of things, one of them being to throw more changeups in the zone and just keep attacking the plate and get the strikes and keep the count down,” said Soroka. “I will always keep working on myself and trying to get better and now it’s time to go and show the Nationals and the rest of the league what I am capable of and get back to the numbers that made me who I was years ago.”