Michael Soroka may need to be versatile on mound like Ryne Nelson, former D-backs pitcher says

Veteran pitcher Michael Soroka was one of many arms acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks dating back to the last MLB trade deadline, but he may be different from the rest with what he’s asked to do.

Former D-backs pitcher Josh Collmenter said Tuesday he sees Soroka, whom club general manager Mike Hazen expressed confidence in, stepping into a hybrid starter/reliever role like Ryne Nelson did last season.

Nelson last season made 23 starts and 10 relief appearances for Arizona, totaling a 3.4 bWAR and 3.39 ERA.

“Early on (in the offseason), they just needed an arm and I think Mike Hazen saw value in that and wherever he fits in,” Collmenter told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke. “He could see that Ryne Nelson role where they might need a starter here or there.

“They might need someone to cover a couple starts if someone goes down or something happens, but they also need some depth in the bullpen and a guy that can throw multiple innings, and I think they see that in Soroka.”

The 28-year-old righty signed a $7.5 million deal for the 2026 season with a mutual option for 2027. He threw in the Washington Nationals’ rotation and the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen after being shipped at the deadline in 2025, so he brings recent role versatility with him.

He threw 89.1 innings last year despite two injured list stints, the most he’s pitched since 2019, and worked a 4.52 ERA with better peripheral numbers.

Soroka has been an elite-level arm before, making the All-Star team as a 21-year-old in 2019 with the Atlanta Braves. Injuries took over from there, as two Achilles tears and several arm injuries have limited his output over the past six years.

With high-leverage relievers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez both to miss significant portions of this season for Tommy John surgeries, and many young arms in the bullpen picture such as 26-year-old Andrew Hoffmann, a relief role would be up for grabs. At the same time, Corbin Burnes will not return from his own Tommy John procedure until likely the All-Star break, so Soroka could be a fifth or sixth starter if the rotation extends that far.

The current expectation is Soroka will be a starter, but that could change based on needs as the season unfolds.

“We felt like Mike had the combination of stuff, bounce-back potential and the upside to make it a good fit for us,” Hazen said after Soroka’s signing.

Soroka’s first spring training action in a D-backs uniform was as a starter Tuesday against the Texas Rangers. He went two innings and surrendered one earned run on two hits. He also struck out three — all everyday players in Josh Jung, Jake Burger and Kyle Higashioka — and walked one batter.

“It’s going to be an interesting battle to see who makes up the last couple arms out of that rotation, but the good thing is they have competition and depth,” Collmenter said. “After what happened last year … they’ve keyed in on that this year.”

Arizona Sports’ Alex Weiner contributed to this story.

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