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First of all, congrats to Patrick Corbin. As always, get your money and boy were the Nationals willing to give the left-hander a huge deal, out-bidding the Yankees and division rival Phillies to sign the top free agent starter in the market.
Corbin has agreed to a six-year deal, worth $140 million. It was rumored before that he could get a bigger deal than what Yu Darvish got last year from the Cubs and that has become reality today.
sources: Corbin gets $140M over 6
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 4, 2018
Corbin deal with #Nationals likely to include deferrals, just as Scherzer’s and Strasburg’s seven-year contracts did… https://t.co/dzhjfQ0eDP
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2018
Follow our new Twitter account for real-time updates and in-depth analysis of all things Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs took a lot of criticism for signing Darvish, despite getting him on a deal that was cheaper than expected, six years, $126 million. Of course, 2018 didn’t go as planned, with Darvish only making eight starts and missing most of the season with an elbow injury.
Yet, the backlash started even before the season started, but at this point Darvish’s deal looks good when you compare Corbin’s career up to this offseason and the contract he just got.
I would not give Corbin anything CLOSE to that much, & he prob shouldn't be compared to Hamels/Darvish at the time of their deals.
Hamels: 28.2 WAR, 3.34 ERA, 3.58 FIP – age 28
Darvish: 19.3 WAR, 3.42 ERA, 3.30 FIP – age 30
Corbin: 15.9 WAR, 3.91 ERA, 3.65 FIP – age 29 https://t.co/5tvhg5sfjz— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) November 29, 2018
Now, the question turns to whether the Nationals are out on Bryce Harper, or if they’ll remain aggressive this offseason.
You can also start to wonder how aggressive the Phillies and Yankees will be going after Harper now that their first top target in free agency has signed.
There’s a big market for Harper and Corbin signing for $140 million is great news for him.
But finally we got some things happening and they should continue to pick up steam as the Winter Meetings start in Las Vegas on Sunday.
