Former Braves player is a fascinating Mets free agent gamble to consider

When a starting pitcher struggles or gets hurt, the natural inclination is to wonder how his career could be saved with a move to the bullpen. It was a thought with Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard in the past. Neither former New York Mets player ever embraced a change. Harvey has retired. Syndergaard didn’t pitch at all in 2024.

The Atlanta Braves thought they had a rising star in their rotation with a guy named Michael Soroka. A Cy Young contender and Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2019 when Pete Alonso won the award, injuries completely knocked him off the warpath. He made only 3 starts in 2020 and didn’t play at all in 2021 or 2022. When he returned for the Braves in 2023, a 6.40 ERA was the result. This came in just over 30 innings and was enough for them to pull the plug. Soroka was sent to the Chicago White Sox just over a year ago.

A quick glance at Soroka’s numbers in Chicago won’t get too many excited. A record of 0-10 and 4.74 ERA represented the historically bad team he played for well. But that doesn’t mean he’d be Anthony Young in a Mets uniform.

Michael Soroka was too good in relief last year for the Mets to fully dismiss

Soroka had two different kinds of seasons. In 9 starts and 43.2 innings as a starter, he was awful. There’s no polite way to put it. He had a 6.39 ERA, 24 walks and strikeouts each. Hitters knocked him around for 10 home runs in the small sample.

The relief version of Soroka was much different. Across 16 games and 36 innings, Soroka was 0-5 but more importantly had a 2.75 ERA. He dazzled when it came to strikeouts, fanning hitters at a rate of 15 per 9 innings.

It wasn’t an incredible showing as he still had a 1.22 WHIP in large part due to a high number of walks. Batters hit .189/.303/.291 against him. He was still far from the right-handed version of Jake Diekman. Capable of going multiple innings at a time thanks to his history as a starter, Soroka is a fascinating gamble the Mets should investigate.

Soroka wasn’t able to fight off injury in 2024. The bug bit him yet again and he missed time in the later months. His free agent market will be one to follow because of his age, 27, and how good he was briefly in the past on top of how effective he looked as a reliever for the White Sox this past year. He’s the kind of guy a team could conceivably sign with a team option for a second year. Before we get there, let’s consider this reason for the Mets to put him on the wish-list: the occasional six-man rotation.

The Mets can navigate through the year without having to use six starters to exhaustion. Working Tylor Megill in when needed is okay with the biggest hurdle possibly being how to make room for him on the roster without having to option one of their better relievers like Dedniel Nunez. If Soroka is utilized similarly to how the Mets used Jose Butto, perhaps an opener followed by Soroka for three or four innings in the middle can be an answer here.

The Mets have shown a desire to take on projects. Soroka is hardly low-profile, though. He’s more forgotten. Probably a little too good last year in relief to accept a minor league deal, a vesting option for a second year based on reaching an innings total would be the direction to go here.