Arguably the best starting pitcher available on the MLB Free Agent market has found a new home. It is being reported that left-hander Patrick Corbin has agreed to a six-year deal with the Washington Nationals. The deal is pending a physical. Chelsea Janes with the Washington Post shared the report:
Nationals have agreed to terms on a deal with Patrick Corbin, according to a person familiar. Pending physical.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) December 4, 2018
Can confirm the Corbin deal is for six years, and pending a physical, which is important.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) December 4, 2018
Report: Patrick Corbin Signing with Washington Nationals
Corbin is fresh off a career-best season, posting an 11-7 record, 3.15 ERA, and 1.05 WHIP in 33 starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Corbin was recognized with NL All-Star honors for the second time in his career, and finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting. A great deal of Corbin’s success can be attributed to a surge in his strikeout numbers and a significantly lower walk rate in 2018. Corbin punched out 246 batters — 68 more than his previous season-long career high — to go along with a 6% walk rate, the lowest over a full season in his career. This was largely due to the excellent performance of his slider which he turned to a career-high 40.9% of the time, resulting in a stellar 15.6% swinging strike percentage, good for second-best among qualified pitchers in all of baseball.
Corbin will join a Nationals team looking to return to the postseason after falling short in 2018. He will be a welcome addition to an already strong rotation featuring Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. Still in the prime of his career at 29-years of age, Corbin will aim to string together back-to-back All-star caliber campaigns for the first time in his career.
Overall, Corbin is 56-54 with a 3.91 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 154 starts across his six-year big league career, all with Arizona. Corbin missed the entirety of 2014 after undergoing Tommy John surgery but has gradually improved in the three years since then. Last season saw Corbin put to rest any fears that he would be unable to get back to his All-star level of 2013, his first full year in the big leagues prior to Tommy John.
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