SURPRISE, Ariz. — The
Injuries were an issue for the rotation last year, but the re-signing of Nathan Eovaldi and the return of Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle after recoveries from elbow surgeries delayed their 2024 debuts had the 2023 World Series champion Rangers appearing to be in good shape entering spring training.
Corbin, who has logged the third-most innings in Major League Baseball since he broke in with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012, was a stabilizer.
“A competitor, by all accounts, just a winning personality, somebody who’s going to fit in our clubhouse well and gives us added protection,” president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters. “We also believe that there’s some things we saw in the second half of last year with his performance that indicate he can continue that and be a very serviceable major league starting pitcher, which we need right now.”
Corbin had a solid debut season with the Nationals in 2019, when he matched his career high of 14 wins, posted a 3.25 ERA in 33 starts and was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series. But he went 33-70 with a 5.62 ERA over the next five years after the pandemic shortened the 2020 season.
The 35-year-old allowed the most hits (208) and earned runs (109) in the major leagues in 2024, but he was second on the 91-loss Nationals with 174⅔ innings. In 342 career appearances, including 324 starts, Corbin is 103-131 with a 4.51 ERA and 1,729 strikeouts in 1,892⅓ innings.
