PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with right-hander Michael Soroka on a $7.5 million, one-year deal, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending a physical.
The 28-year-old Soroka is expected to bolster the back of the D-backs' starting rotation. He was 3-8 with a 4.52 ERA last season, starting 16 games for the Washington Nationals before getting traded to the Chicago Cubs, where he pitched mostly out of the bullpen.
A 2019 All-Star with the Atlanta Braves, Soroka was one of the game's best young pitchers, finishing with a 13-4 record and a 2.68 ERA that season. But he tore his right Achilles twice — once in 2020 and again in 2021 — which kept him off the mound for more than two full seasons.
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FILE - Chicago Cubs starter Michael Soroka delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty, File)
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The apparent leader of a failed coup in Benin remained on the run and the fate of hostages remained unclear on Monday, a day after a group of soldiers attempted to overthrow the government of the West African nation.
The soldiers, calling themselves the Committee for Refoundation, stormed the national television station on Sunday morning. Led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, eight soldiers appeared in a broadcast announcing the removal of President Patrice Talon, dissolution of the government and suspension of state institutions.
Before the coup, Tigri was a member of Talon's protection detail. As an artillery officer, he commanded a National Guard battalion between 2023 and 2025.
By Sunday afternoon, the coup was foiled by Benin's military, supported by Nigerian air and ground forces, which launched attacks against fleeing mutineers. At least a dozen soldiers were arrested, while others remained at large. Tigri's whereabouts weren't known.
Calm returned to Cotonou, Benin’s administrative center, with soldiers on the streets.
Talon described the coup late Sunday as a “senseless adventure,” and said the situation was under control. He vowed to punish mutineers and ensure the safety of hostages, including some believed to be senior military officers. He didn't disclose their identities, and it wasn't clear how many were held.
The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, said Sunday that it had deployed a standby force to Benin to help preserve democracy. The troops included personnel from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. The size of the force was unclear.
A Nigerian government spokesperson said in a statement that Talon had requested Nigeria’s help. It wasn't clear how many personnel or how much equipment had been deployed.
Nigeria and the ECOWAS regional bloc hadn't intervened in a member state since 2017, when it sent troops to Gambia to force then President Yahya Jammeh to vacate power following his election loss.
The bloc, led by Nigeria, tried to intervene in Niger after the country's 2023 coup. At that time, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu led the bloc. His threat to intervene if the junta didn't restore the ousted democratic government resulted in a standoff between the bloc and three junta-led countries, and they later left the bloc.
Analysts say Nigeria has a strategic interest in defending its borders, especially now, while it experiences a severe security crisis.
“The coup in Benin is one too many. Nigeria cannot afford to be encircled by hostile governments,” Oluwole Ojewale, a senior security researcher at Dakar-based Institute for Security Studies, told The Associated Press.
The attempted coup is the latest in a spate of coups that have rocked West Africa since 2020. Soldiers seized power last month in Guinea-Bissau after a disputed election result, following Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Guinea and Gabon among the countries that have experienced similar takeovers in the past five years.
Analysts say ECOWAS lacks consistency in its response. In Gabon and Guinea-Bissau, the bloc was less assertive, and it has watched some other leaders stay in office via constitutional changes.
“You can make the argument that Tinubu needed to show some strength in preserving democracy, but this now speaks to ECOWAS' double standard ... It would appear that there are certain presidents who are part of the club, and when they behave anyhow, nobody says anything,” said Cheta Nwanze, a partner at the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence geopolitical consultancy firm.
Despite a history of coups following its independence from France in 1960, Benin has enjoyed relative calm in the past two decades. The country is set to elect a new president in April, because Talon is set to leave office after a decade in power.
AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
Soldiers ride in a military vehicle along a street amid an attempted coup in Cotonou Benin, Sunday Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)
Soldiers ride in a military vehicle along a street amid an attempted coup in Cotonou Benin, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
People on motorcycles pass by soldiers guarding a street amid an attempted coup in Cotonou Benin, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
People gather near a roadway amid an attempted coup in Cotonou, Benin, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
FILE - Benin's President Patrice Talon attends a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
