{"id":514844,"date":"2026-01-11T08:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T08:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/514844\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T08:31:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T08:31:14","slug":"d-backs-michael-soroka-ready-to-represent-canada-in-world-baseball-classic-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/514844\/","title":{"rendered":"D-Backs\u2019 Michael Soroka ready to represent Canada in World Baseball Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 Newly signed Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Michael Soroka has been waiting for the World Baseball Classic to come back around, ready to represent his home country of Canada in this year\u2019s edition.<\/p>\n

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Oct 4, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Michael Soroka (99) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning of game one of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve had this one circled on the calendar for a while, one that I really wanted to be able to do, for a multitude of reasons,\u201d Soroka said Saturday ahead of Baseball Canada\u2019s annual awards banquet, according to Sportsnet\u2019s Shi Davidi. \u201cI\u2019m at a point where I have a good idea of what it takes to get ready for that. Physically, this is the best I\u2019ve probably ever felt in my life, so it\u2019s a good time to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

After missing the last two World Baseball Classics because of injury, 2026 holds special significance for the right-hander. It will have been nearly 11 years since he last wore \u201cCanada\u201d across his chest, and like many players who represent their home country, it remains both an honor and a responsibility he does not take lightly.<\/p>\n

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Jul 18, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka (34) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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With Canada\u2019s baseball surge following the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 World Series appearance in 2025, more attention has turned to the country\u2019s talent and the overall product coming from north of the border. Even without star first baseman Freddie Freeman, who is expected to miss the tournament for personal reasons, Soroka believes Canada has a strong chance to make a deep run in the WBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a really, really good squad,\u201d he said to Davidi. \u201cWe have a real good shot of at least getting to Houston (for the quarterfinals) and getting through that. And I want to continue what the Jays have done in Canadian baseball over the last year, I want it to be a good story for that, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jul 23, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka (34) throws to the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Soroka is one of several Diamondbacks who have already pledged to represent their home countries in the World Baseball Classic. Corbin Carroll is set to play for Team USA, while Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte will suit up for the Dominican Republic. Gabriel Moreno has also expressed interest in playing for Team Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Even before the start of the 2026 season, one of Arizona\u2019s newest arms is set to take the international stage, giving Diamondbacks fans a preview of what\u2019s to come \u2014 all while playing for the honor of his country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really good mix of young and guys that I think can really lead the team,\u201d Soroka said. \u201cAnd we have a lot of guys that are gamers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Baseball Classic begins on Thursday, March 5, and will run through to the finals on Tuesday, March 17.<\/p>\n

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*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*Wendy Lopez is a reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on her X account, @wlopezde<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 Newly signed Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Michael Soroka has been waiting for the World Baseball Classic to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2290],"tags":[22,5,42709,1465,24,50,1538,11189,815,5993,1533,139,729,10498,1353,843,59,3628,68156,18,811,70,5824,71,1519,4820],"class_list":{"0":"post-514844","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baseball","8":"tag-arizona-diamondbacks","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-baseball-canada","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-chicago-cubs","13":"tag-cincinnati-reds","14":"tag-corbin-carroll","15":"tag-district-of-columbia","16":"tag-freddie-freeman","17":"tag-gabriel-moreno","18":"tag-geraldo-perdomo","19":"tag-houston","20":"tag-ketel-marte","21":"tag-mandatory-credit","22":"tag-michael-soroka","23":"tag-milwaukee","24":"tag-milwaukee-brewers","25":"tag-nationals-park","26":"tag-rafael-suanes-imagn","27":"tag-san-diego-padres","28":"tag-starting-pitcher","29":"tag-toronto-blue-jays","30":"tag-usa","31":"tag-washington-nationals","32":"tag-wisconsin","33":"tag-world-baseball-classic"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115875537571835952","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}