GLENDALE, Ariz. – Mike Soroka checks out the Chicago White Sox spring training clubhouse and sees a ton of players in a similar situation to himself: individuals looking to demonstrate something.
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Mike Soroka checks out the Chicago White Sox spring training clubhouse and sees a ton of players in a similar situation to himself: individuals looking to demonstrate something.
“There’s a great deal of folks in this clubhouse that are fighting for careers,” Soroka said Thursday. “I think there’s a great deal of folks that think they have much more to provide for this game. You know, that’s what makes a coarse team, and I’m eager to be a part of that.”
Soroka is embracing a new beginning after he came over in a trade with Atlanta in November. The White Sox acquired the 26-year-old right-hander as part of a five-player package for lefty reliever Aaron Bummer.
General manager Chris Getz said Soroka was an integral part of his conversations with the Braves.
“At times he was (on) the external looking in because of how profound they were and to have the option to capture him potentially on an upswing back to be a productive major league player, it seemed like the ok move to have him part of that deal,” Getz said.
It once looked as on the off chance that Soroka would be a part of the Braves’ rotation for quite a long time. Be that as it may, his once-promising career has been derailed by a series of injuries.
“The last two or three years have been troublesome getting back into it,” Soroka said. “Having some achievement so early on, you want to do it year in and year out. And then, at that point, clearly what happened removed three years from my career, yet I’m trying to get that on the back end now.”
The six-foot-five Soroka, who is from Calgary, was a breakout star with Atlanta in 2019. The previous first-round pick went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts, helping the Braves win the NL East. He was the sprinter up to Pete Alonso for NL The latest phenom.
Then injuries started to stack up.
He tore his right Achilles ligament during a routine fielding play in his third start of the pandemic-delayed 2020 season. After he had another procedure to address complications and made his way through nine months of rehab, he smothered his ligament again while walking into Truist Park — just after a defensive boot had been eliminated.
“It definitely places into point of view that this isn’t perpetually,” Soroka said. “At the point when you get drafted at (age) 17 and your initial not many years in the minor leagues kind of roll by, you feel like you’re going to be in this game everlastingly, and that’s simply not the situation. It definitely places that in context a smidgen.”
Soroka played for Triple-A Gwinnett for the majority of last season, going 4-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts. He made six starts and one alleviation appearance for Atlanta, going 2-2 with a 6.40 ERA.
He finished the year on the injured rundown because of forearm inflammation, yet he said he feels great heading into his most memorable camp with the White Sox.
“This person was one of the better pitchers in the game a couple of years back, and he experienced a few extreme injuries,” Chicago manager Pedro Grifol said. “So the durability is there, because he’s back and he’s solid and he’s ready to go.”
Soroka felt as on the off chance that he was starting to regain his structure at the finish of last season. He went 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in five minor league starts in August, yet he was tagged for five runs in three innings against St. Louis in his final appearance with Atlanta on Sept. 5.
His experience with the Braves was marked by almost constant team achievement, while the White Sox lost 101 games last year. Maybe Chicago may be headed for another extreme season, however Soroka is hopeful.
“I think there’s a gathering here that realize this division is completely open and we can go take that,” he said. “That’s always going to be the plan: Put the best foot forward and go contend.”