Glew: Soroka preparing for Canada's WBC opener against Colombia
Calgary Redbirds and Junior National Team alum Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) will make his World Baseball Classic debut for Canada on Saturday. Photo: Arizona Diamondbacks/X
March 5, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Canada captain Josh Naylor has nothing but praise for Michael Soroka, who will start the first game of the World Baseball Classic for Canada in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Saturday.
“He’s phenomenal. He’s relentless on the mound. He has a never-give-up attitude. He doesn’t ever cave into his plan,” said Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) at Canada’s introductory WBC press conference on Thursday morning. “He has a specific plan for each hitter he’s going to face, and he attacks that game plan through and through.”
Veteran Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) shared a similar assessment of Soroka.
“I think he’s a bulldog on the mound,” said O’Neill at the press conference. “He’s got really good stuff, trusts his stuff in the zone, attacks hitters, trusts his game plan.”
The 28-year-old Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) hopes to have all of that going for him in his WBC debut on Saturday.
“I think I’ve had to say no [to playing in the WBC] a couple of times, unfortunately, due to injuries,” said Soroka at the press conference. “It’s the first time in my career where everything has kind of lined up and I’ve been able to put on this jersey again . . . it’s always an honour, and something that you kind of look at when you’re a kid as an incredible opportunity.”
But it’s an opportunity Soroka must have wondered if he’d ever get, given what he has endured in recent years.
A graduate of the Calgary Redbirds and Junior National Team, Soroka was a first-round pick (28th overall) of the Atlanta Braves in 2015. He enjoyed an outstanding rookie season with the Braves in 2019 in which he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts and won the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award, as top Canuck player.
Unfortunately, since then his career has been curtailed by a series of injuries, most notably he tore his right Achilles tendon twice, forcing him to miss the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
He returned to make seven appearances (six starts) for the Braves in 2023 but was dealt to the Chicago White Sox after the season. He split the 2024 campaign between the Sox starting rotation and their bullpen and recorded a 4.74 ERA and had 84 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings.
Following that season, the 6-foot-5 righty signed with the Washington Nationals. He made 16 starts for them prior to being traded to the Chicago Cubs at the deadline last July. He made one start with the Cubs before suffering a shoulder strain which sidelined him for almost six weeks. Upon his return, the Cubs used him exclusively as a reliever. He didn’t permit an earned run in five September relief appearances and he also pitched in two postseason games.
In December, Soroka signed a one-year, $7.5-million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Canuck right-hander feels healthy and he has done some advanced scouting of the Colombian team he’ll face on Saturday.
“Yeah, there’s quite a few guys [on the Colombia team] that obviously we’ve come across,” said Soroka. “Julio Teheran was one of the veterans when I came out, obviously a pitcher. But on the hitting side, of course. There’s been some guys that I faced quite a bit in my career. Harold Ramirez and some other ones we’re familiar with. Josh was telling me about a couple of the guys they have on their team that are prospects too.
“It’s just familiarizing yourself, but ultimately at the end of the day coming down to doing what I do best and knowing that will play really well.”
Canada’s WBC pool also includes Panama, Puerto Rico and Cuba. This will represent Canada’s sixth WBC and they have never advanced past the first round. However, this is the first WBC in which they have not had the U.S. in their pool.
Veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon will get the start for Canada in their second game, a 7:00 p.m. E.T. matchup against Panama on Sunday.
As a 21-year-old prospect, Taillon, whose parents are Canadian, started for Canada against a strong U.S. squad in 2013. In that contest, he allowed just one earned run in four innings, while striking out three. The U.S. eventually won 9-4.