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

In recent years, Michael Soroka has established himself as one of the best Canadian throwers in the sport. This offseason was a big one for him. He signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks and recently committed to playing for Canada in the 2026 installment of the World Baseball Classic.

Join the Diamondbacks

After signing a one-year deal with Washington last year, Soroka was traded to the Cubs and thrown out of their bullpen during the second half of the season, while also ending up on the IL for some time. Last winter, he signed a one-year deal worth $9 million 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 we had another chance to start,” Soroka explained in a conversation with Blue Jays Nation. “Unfortunately, they’ve had some injuries, but that’s a place where I can step in and I think I can 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 fun to be able to go against a team that can compete for a playoff spot. With the recent addition of Arenado, I think we’re going to be one of the best defensive teams in baseball. That’s obviously pretty exciting for me on this field on the mound.”

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

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

“It’s nice not to have to worry about moving all year round,” says Soroka. “I wanted to live in a baseball house in this country. And this is also where most guys end up calling home, because half the teams here are in spring training. So about a 50-50 chance that you get to stay home 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 yourself

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

“You realize that injuries are completely out of your control and that everyone in this game experiences fights at some point,” Soroka explains. “You’re going to hit them. So you realize this is your test, and this is how you’re going to test yourself to see if you have the ability to stay in this game. I think sports in general, and especially baseball, rewards people who don’t want to quit or don’t know how to quit. And for me, that was never even considered because I was at that point of 20, 21, 22, 23. What else would I do?”

In addition to the Achilles tendon injuries, he has battled a number of other ailments over the years that made him realize 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 and rework things a little bit. Now I’m getting to the point where I know how to recreate what happened, and I’m excited to be able to show that I think I’ve found something that’s going to be like that season.”

The 6-foot-1 right-hander admits that he probably got away with pitching in a certain way in his first few professional seasons because he was so young. As he gets older, he has discovered that there is a right way to train and play the game.

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

“I think anyone who watches me on a daily or annual basis, it’s pretty indisputable that my stuff is much better than it was back then. It’s just a matter of tuning in and using it the right way and ultimately taking charge and playing the game of baseball.”

Soroka was dealt to the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline last summer, where he appeared in just six games before his season ended on the injured list. However, his short time in the Windy City gave him the opportunity to learn from a coach he had not worked with before.

“We added some pitches. I got a chance to talk to Tyler Zombro all the time when I was with the Cubs and he was pretty big on showing me how to add some pitches. So I’m excited to implement that 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 turning to baseball.

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

“It didn’t seem that crazy… It didn’t seem that crazy if a guy from Calgary had made it,” Soroka said. “I had dreams at that point of playing in the NHL. What’s the difference between that and the big leagues? It also helped a lot to have parents who believe in you and tell you that if you really want to do something, you have to put in 100 percent and just go for it and see what happens. Because if you do that, you don’t know how far you’ll get.”

The 2026 World Baseball Classic kicks off in March, with Canada poised to field one of their best teams in the tournament’s history. Soroka will get his first chance to play for Canada on the WBC after committing earlier this month.

“I think we’re probably as close a team as we’ve ever been, maybe ever,” Soroka said. “We’ve always had the stars at the top, and there’s always been depth that’s been a bit lacking in our squad. It’s hard because there just aren’t that many of us, especially the ones who can say yes every time. We deal with 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 it’s going to be pretty special this time competing with Canada, and I think we have a really good chance of making it out of that pool.”

Canada will attempt 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 of the Canadian players he hasn’t taken the field with yet.

“I’m excited to have Denzel Clark in centerfield. I’ve watched some 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 some guys I haven’t actually played with, like Cal Quantrill and Mitch Bratt. So it’ll be fun to be in that dynamic and bring us all closer together and hopefully put together a big storyline for Canadian baseball.”

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