A mutual option was in place with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Michael Soroka, but the 29-year-old right-handed pitcher elected to hit free agency, according to AZCentral's Nick Piecoro.

Seeing as his option was only worth $10 million, it makes complete sense that he would want to test the open market after such a strong season.

Soroka came to Arizona for the 2026 season, but there were no signs that this was going to be a long-term agreement.

Corbin Burnes may have just opted into the remaining portion of his contract, but that doesn't mean all of the pitchers around him are going to do the same.

Soroka is owed a $1 million buyout, and then will become a free agent, where he will likely earn an AAV of far more than $10 million per season.

For a team that barely missed out on making the playoffs, the last thing they wanted to do was have to rebuild this roster from scratch.

It's not like every player on the roster is declining a mutual or player option, but Soroka is someone who contributed to this season in a huge way.

The Canadian native was a 2.2 WAR player this season, and the only other time it was higher was during his career 5.7 WAR year in 2019.

Other than that, he hasn't even had a year where his WAR was above 1.0.

Soroka started 21 of the 22 games he pitched in this season. He finished the year 9-5 with a 3.41 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.

Having just played for his fifth team in the last four years, Soroka is headed to sign a contract with his sixth MLB team since joining the league in 2018.

One of Soroka's career highlights came this season with his immaculate inning on Monday, March 30. That nine-pitch outing was in the Diamondbacks' fourth game of the year, and just so happened to be when they picked up their first win.

That immaculate inning came in the top of the fifth against the Detroit Tigers. All three strikeouts came on swings in an inning that featured four strikes looking, four swinging, and just one foul ball.

For what it's worth, Soroka did that against the Tigers' ninth, first, and second hitters in the lineup.

Soroka was not named an All-Star this season. His lone selection was in 2019 when he was with the Atlanta Braves.