The baseball thirst for left-handers has always existed, so left-handers who throw well have always received good reviews in the market. In many cases, contracts worth more than 100 million dollars are awarded when selected as an A-level player. Patrick Corbin (34‧ Washington) is a player who clearly shows this trend.
Corbin was a good throwing left-handed pitcher. He made his major league debut at Arizona in 2012 and was an All-Star twice (2013‧2018). He was a pitcher who could throw 200 innings every year, and right after he completely escaped from injury, he threw 389⅔ innings in 66 games for two years from 2017 to 2018, recording an average ERA of 3.58 with 25 wins and 20 losses.
Even if the average ERA of 3.58 is not the best, there must be many teams that want this solid left-hander, and he signed a six-year, $140 million (approximately 183.5 billion won) contract with Washington. Washington expected that Corbyn would stably rotate around the starting rotation and achieve good results. But the calculations went wrong. It spins stably, but I didn’t get good grades.
Corbyn’s skills, which were fine until 2019, have been on a clear decline since 2020. Over his last three years, Corbyn has appeared in 73 games, but he’s just 17-42 with a 5.82 earned run average. He recorded 16 losses in 2021 and 19 losses in 2022, and he left the disgrace of being the pitcher with the most losses in the National League for the second year in a row.
Usually, a pitcher who can’t throw this much will be excluded from the starting rotation, but he continues to play because of the money he gave him and Washington, which has entered a rebuilding phase. And he is in a vicious circle where the more he goes to the game, the worse his grades are. 안전놀이터
Washington plans to use Corbyn as a starter this year as well. There is no suitable alternative. But there are no good signs. He has been steadily starting in this exhibition game, but has 2 losses in 3 games and an average ERA of 5.63. It is noticeable that his pitch is not holding up any longer, as he gets 10 hits in 8 innings. His batting average reaches 0.313. The past two years have been good, even in exhibition matches, but this year is not even that.
After all, Corbin didn’t have any major injuries after signing the contract, and in particular, he didn’t have any elbow or shoulder problems that have an absolute impact on a pitcher’s life. Nevertheless, it is expected to remain in the history of major league contracts as a case of going downhill rapidly in one or two years.