Washington Nationals Sign Ace Pitcher Patrick Corbin To Big-Time Six-Year Contract

The Washington Nationals have signed ace pitcher Patrick Corbin to a six-year contract worth $140 million, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

And with that, the best pitcher available in free agency is now off the market.

The 29-year-old Corbin is coming off an impressive season in which he won 11 games and registered a 3.15 ERA with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Corbin pitched 200 innings for just the second time in his career, striking out a career-high 246 batters and walking just 48.

Opponents batted just .218 against Corbin in 2018, with a total OPS of .607.  A year removed from a 14-win season, Corbin set himself up nicely for a big contract in a market that's lacking in big-time starting pitchers.

Corbin joins an already stacked Washington rotation that consists of Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals have built their team around a strong pitching rotation, and the rich only got richer after adding an All-Star-caliber arm in Corbin.

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It's a big win for Washington GM Mike Rizzo, who is set to lose franchise face Bryce Harper in free agency. The latter rejected a $300 million contract extension in the early days of free agency, but Rizzo has wasted no time in reshaping a title contender that surprisingly missed the playoffs last year.

As Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post noted, the Corbin signing is one of the many recent big-time moves by Rizzo, who also added veteran catchers Yan Gomes ad Kurt Suzuki.

What This Means

With NL East foes in the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies adding big pieces to their promising young cores, the Nationals couldn't afford to stand pat in free agency. Rizzo has this team in prime position to bounce back and contend for a playoff spot in 2019 now.

A rotation consisting of Corbin, Scherzer and Strasburg has all the makings to be the best in baseball next year.

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