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Canadian Michael Soroka discusses signing with the Diamondbacks and representing Canada at the upcoming World Baseball Classic

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Over the last few years, Michael Soroka has established himself as one of the best Canadian pitchers in the game. This offseason was a big one for him, inking a one-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks and recently committing to play for Canada in the 2026 installment of the World Baseball Classic.

Soroka recently sat down with us here at Blue Jays Nation to discuss his preparations ahead of what promises to be a big year in his career.

Joining the Diamondbacks

After signing a one-year deal with Washington last year, Soroka was traded to the Cubs and pitched out of their bullpen through the second half of the season while also landing on the IL for some time. This past winter, he signed a one-year, $9 million deal with Arizona, where he will have a chance to be a key part of their rotation in 2026.

“First and foremost, I wanted to make sure that we got another opportunity to start,” explained Soroka, speaking with Blue Jays Nation. “Unfortunately, they’ve had some injuries, but that’s a place where I can step in and I think make an impact there. So that was number one. Number two was they’ve been a really good team the last two years. It’s always nice to be able to show up to a team that is going to be able to compete for a playoff spot. With the addition of Arenado recently, I think we’re going to be one of the best defensive teams in baseball. That’s obviously pretty exciting for me on the mound.”

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An added perk of joining the Diamondbacks is the proximity to his new home.

He’s lived in Scottsdale for just over a year, which puts him in a prime spot to be in a baseball hotbed year-round.

“It’s nice to not really have to worry about moving anywhere all year,” said Soroka. “I wanted to be in a home for baseball in this country. And this is also where most guys end up calling home because half the teams are here in spring training. So a little 50-50 shot that you get to stay at home for an extra six weeks. And then that one in 30 chance that you don’t have to move all year.”

Dealing with Injuries and Reinventing Himself

Soroka burst onto the baseball scene with the Atlanta Braves in 2019, making the All-Star team and finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Unfortunately, he would run into a devastating string of injuries starting in early 2020.

He tore his Achilles, and then re-tore the tendon once he had almost worked his way all the way back. All told, he missed about three full years of baseball, making his return to the mound in late 2023 with the Braves.

“You realize that injuries are completely out of your control and that everybody in this game at one point or another goes through some battles,” explains Soroka. “You’re going to hit them. So you realize that this is your test, and this is how you’re going to test yourself to see if you have the ability to stick in this game. I think sports in general, especially baseball, reward people who don’t want to quit or don’t know how to quit. And for me, there was no thought of that ever because I was at that point of 20, 21, 22, 23, what else would I do?”

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Aside from the Achilles injuries, he’s battled a few other ailments over the years that made him realize that he needed to change his preparation if he wanted to become an effective pitcher in the long run.

“After the injuries, I had to change things a little bit and rework things. Now I’m getting to the point where I know how to create what happened, and I’m excited to be able to show that I think I’ve found something that is going to resemble that season.”

The six-foot-five right-hander admits that he probably got away with pitching a certain way in his first few professional seasons because he was so young. As he’s aged, he’s found that there is a proper way to train and play the game.

He spent time in recent years at Bio Kinetics 3D in Salt Lake City, a facility that has helped him train properly and efficiently.

“You watch guys like Jacob deGrom and Aroldis Chapman, you watch some of the best throwers this game has probably ever seen,” explained Soroka. “There is a right way to do things on the mound, and at the plate, for that matter, but it can sometimes look very different based on body types and athleticism levels.

“I think anybody watching me daily or yearly basis, it’s pretty unarguable that my stuff is much better than it was back then. It’s just a matter of fine tuning and using it properly and ultimately commanding it and playing the game of baseball.”

Soroka was dealt to the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline last summer, where he pitched in just six games before his season ended on the injured list. However, his brief time in the Windy City allowed him the chance to learn from a coach that he hadn’t worked with before.

“We’ve added some pitches. I got a chance to talk with Tyler Zombro the whole time when I was with the Cubs and he was pretty big in showing me how to add a couple of pitches. So I’m excited to implement those this year.”

Representing Canada at the World Baseball Classic

As a Canadian, Soroka’s first love was unsurprisingly hockey, which took up most of his time in his younger years before pivoting to baseball.

Having the chance to meet and grow from the influence of former big leaguer and fellow Calgarian Chris Reitsma helped him realize that professional baseball was an option for him.

“It made it seem not that outlandish… It didn’t seem that crazy if a guy from Calgary had made it<” said Soroka. “I had dreams of being in the NHL at that point. Well, what’s the difference between that and the big leagues? It also helped a lot having parents who believe in you and tell you that if you really want to do something, you got to commit to it a hundred percent and just go for it and see what happens. Because if you do that, there’s no telling how far you might make it.”

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The 2026 World Baseball Classic is set to kickoff in March, with Canada poised to field one of their best teams in the tournament’s history. Soroka will get his first crack at playing for Canada at the WBC, having committed earlier this month.

“I think we’re probably as deep a team as we’ve been, maybe ever,” said Soroka. “We’ve always had the stars at the top, and it’s always been depth that’s kind of been missing on our roster. It’s difficult because there’s just not that many of us, especially those who can say yes every time it comes around. We go through injuries, we go through ups and downs. I’ve had to say no twice now because it’s just not the right time.

“I think this time around is going to be pretty special to compete with Canada, and I do think we have a really good chance of making it out of that pool.”

Canada will try to advance to the second round of the WBC for the first time, with Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Colombia making up the rest of their pool. For Soroka, he’s excited to be able to play with some Canadian players that he has yet to take the field with.

“I’m excited to have Denzel Clark in centrefield. I’ve been watching a couple of those catches over and over again. I think he knows how cool those catches are… that one catch could be the greatest catch of all time. There’s definitely a bunch of guys that I actually haven’t played with, like Cal Quantrill and Mitch Bratt. So it’ll be fun to kind of be in that dynamic and just bring us all closer together and hopefully put a big storyline together for Canadian baseball.”

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