Pitcher Patrick Corbin Is a Prized Baseball Free Agent

The Major League Baseball free agent market is filled with very talented players this year. Most of the attention has been focused on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. There is no question that those guys are the most coveted position player free agents. However, the best starting pitcher by far that is available is Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks. There have been many rumors about where the talented left-hander will sign since he officially filed for free agency earlier this month. One of the most popular rumors is that he will eventually agree to a contract with the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals seem to be a good fit for Corbin. They definitely will need help with their starting rotation. They have also showed a willingness to spend a lot of money by offering Harper a contract that was worth $300 million. Corbin won’t get even close to that much. However, he is young and he amassed 246 strikeouts last season. That means the team that eventually signs him will need to spend a pretty penny. Harper turned down the generous contract offer from the Nationals. This means that they can use some of the money they were going to give to Harper to sign Corbin.

The Nationals would have a formidable top three in their rotation if they did end up signing Corbin. They already have 2018 Cy Young runner-up Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg already under contract. There is no question that Washington will need to make some changes if they are going to close the gap between themselves and the defending NL East champion Atlanta Braves. Adding another dominant starting pitcher to the mix would go a long way towards accomplishing that goal.

One of the things that might prevent the Nationals and other teams from offering Corbin a huge contract is the fact that 2018 was by far his best season. It came out of nowhere. He has shown flashes of brilliance before. However, nobody expected Corbin to be able to put together the season he did. He had a career year at the most perfect time possible. Now he is looking to cash in. Teams might be worried that 2018 was a fluke and that he will not be able to duplicate it again. That remains to be seen. What remains certain is Corbin is the best option that teams like the Nationals who are looking to get better in their rotation.