Former Washington Nationals Starting Pitcher the Best Innings Eater Available

At the conclusion of the 2024 regular season, the Washington Nationals knew that they had some work to do with their starting rotation.

A very solid young core was beginning to emerge with MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz all performing quite well during the year.

The one thing that the group was sorely missing entering the offseason was some experience to lean on.

Two veterans, Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams, were both hitting free agency. That left Gore, with 372.2 career innings, as the most experienced starting pitcher on the roster.

That is no longer the case as the team brought in some reinforcements this winter, including Williams, who agreed to re-sign with a two-year, $14 million deal. Michael Soroka is now the highest paid pitcher on the team after agreeing to a one-year, $9 million contract.

The former Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox standout is stepping right into the role of Corbin, who has bigger shoes than some may realize to fill.

While his production was far from ideal over the last few years of his contract with the team, there aren’t many pitchers who were as reliable as him over that stretch.

No matter how much he was struggling, he was always available to take the ball when it was his turn in the rotation. Corbin made at least 31 starts in four straight seasons and seven out of the last eight; the only time he didn’t was the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign.

That is the main reason why Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report (subscription required) believes that veteran is the best left-handed starting pitcher remaining on the market.

“...while the last five years of Corbin's tenure with the Washington Nationals were festivals of hits and runs.

Corbin did make 30-plus starts in each of the last four seasons, though, so teams can view the 35-year-old as a source of innings if nothing else,” he wrote.

Reliability in the starting rotation is something that many teams could certainly use more of. Injuries have been prevalent around the league in spring training, which could make someone of Corbin’s caliber appealing.

However, durability is the only real positive asset he brings to the table as his production over the last few years has left a lot to be desired.

Since 2021, he has the most losses, hits allowed and earned runs charged against him in the MLB. Opponents have recorded a minimum slash line of .282/.344/.481 over that span, hitting him hard with regularity.

But, he does have championship experience and would be a great presence in a clubhouse for a young team in need of leadership or a stopgap contender looking for a few spot starts if a player goes down with an injury.