The Rangers introduced that they’ve signed left-hander Patrick Corbin to a one-year main league deal. The ISE Baseball shopper’s actual assure isn’t publicly identified however Jon Heyman of The New York Submit studies that will probably be a barely greater than $1MM, with incentives price round one million as effectively. Righty Jon Grey was transferred to the 60-day injured listing because the corresponding transfer.
For the Rangers, this might look like a quantity-over-quality transfer. Corbin’s previous few years haven’t been good on a price foundation, however he has been an efficient innings-eater for the Nationals. The southpaw signed a six-year, $140MM deal with Washington going into 2019. He had simply wrapped up a stellar season for the 2018 Diamondbacks, tossing 200 innings with a 3.15 earned run common. Whereas his strikeout price had beforehand hovered round 20%, he punched out 30.8% of opponents that yr.
His first yr as a Nat may hardly have gone significantly better. He logged 202 innings over 33 begins within the common season with a 3.25 ERA, 28.5% strikeout price, 8.4% stroll price and 49.5% floor ball price. He logged one other 23 1/3 innings within the postseason because the Nats charged all the best way to the World Collection and received all of it for the primary time in franchise historical past.
However his outcomes declined in 2020 and by no means actually recovered. His strikeout price fell to twenty.3% that yr and his ERA climbed to 4.66. Within the 4 full seasons since then, he has a mixed 5.71 ERA, 17.7% strikeout price and seven.3% stroll price. He didn’t submit an ERA beneath 5.20 in any of these 4 campaigns.
However as alluded to earlier, he a minimum of compiled bulk innings for the Nats. He has really been about as dependable as a pitcher may be over the previous decade. He missed the 2014 season as a consequence of Tommy John surgical procedure. He was activated in July of 2015 and tossed 85 innings that yr. The Snakes used him as a swingman in 2016, with Corbin logging 155 2/3 innings that yr over 24 begins and 12 aid appearances. Since then, he has made a minimum of 31 begins and logged a minimum of 171 innings in each full season, along with making 11 begins within the shortened 2020 season. Any pitcher can get harm at any time, nevertheless it’s arduous to discover a higher observe document of well being in at this time’s recreation. From 2016 to 2024, Corbin’s 1,492 innings are second in baseball behind Aaron Nola.
A reliable back-end starter has some comprehensible enchantment to the Rangers. The aforementioned Grey suffered a wrist fracture and goes to be out for a fairly some time. As we speak’s switch to the 60-day IL means a return in late Might is the best-case situation. Cody Bradford is shut down with some elbow soreness and confronted an unsure path again to well being.
They may nonetheless have a reliable rotation with out these two, although there are questions with every candidate. Nathan Eovaldi has been largely wholesome for the previous few years however has two Tommy John surgical procedures on his observe document and is now 35 years previous. Jacob deGrom has missed many of the previous two seasons as a consequence of Tommy John surgical procedure and had loads of points earlier than that as effectively. He hasn’t gone previous 92 innings in a season since 2019 and turns 37 in June. Tyler Mahle additionally missed many of the previous two seasons as a consequence of Tommy John surgical procedure and has been battling forearm soreness in camp.
Prospect Kumar Rocker is a candidate to step up and take a job however he additionally missed many of the previous two years as a consequence of his personal TJS. Jack Leiter is impressing in camp however management nonetheless appears to be a difficulty, because it has been all through his minor league profession. Dane Dunning is coming off a tough yr, as is non-roster invitee Adrian Houser.
A man like Corbin taking the ball with regularity could possibly be helpful for a gaggle like that with so many query marks. It’s additionally doable that he’s been higher in recent times than it might seem. As talked about, he has a 5.71 ERA over the previous 4 years. Nevertheless, his .328 batting common on balls in play and 67.4% strand price have been each on the unfortunate facet. His 4.99 FIP and 4.60 SIERA in that span recommend his ERA may need been inflated by a couple of full run. The Nationals had a team-wide -82 Defensive Runs Saved and -96 Outs Above Common throughout that four-year span, maybe explaining a few of the unhealthy luck and further runs crossing the plate.
If Corbin can take the ball and supply half-decent innings, that could possibly be helpful to the Rangers, particularly at this value level. They’re clearly attempting to keep away from the aggressive stability tax in 2025, which has largely restricted them to pretty modest dealings this offseason. RosterResource tasks their CBT quantity at $235MM, solely about $6MM beneath this yr’s $241MM base threshold of the tax. Corbin’s wage received’t transfer that very a lot, since he’s barely making greater than the $760K league minimal.
Presumably, Corbin received’t be an choice for the Rangers instantly. He’ll want a couple of weeks to get himself into recreation form, so he’ll possible begin the season on the injured listing, or maybe he’ll consent to a short non-compulsory task to begin the yr. President of baseball operations Chris Younger tells Kennedi Landry of MLB.com that Corbin’s spouse is because of have a child within the subsequent 24 to 48 hours, so he received’t even be becoming a member of the membership in Arizona. He’ll as an alternative be part of the membership in Texas after they break camp.
Till Corbin is prepared, the Rangers will possible give Rocker and Leiter some legit possibilities at locking down jobs. If these don’t work or different harm conditions pop up, Corbin will slot into the rotation combine and ideally stabilize issues.
Pictures courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski and Geoff Burke of Imagn Photographs.
