Patrick Corbin Is Available

[Leo Morgenstern]

At one point in the 2024-25 offseason, it seemed like the Texas Rangers had more starting pitching than they could possibly know what to do with. There were even rumors that Jon Gray, a 10-year veteran with more than 200 starts to his name, could move to the bullpen. Yet, just 10 days before the start of the regular season, the Rangers’ depth had dwindled. In need of innings, they signed Patrick Corbin to a one-year, $1.1 million deal (with incentives) and sent him to the minors to ramp up. By early April, he was part of their big league rotation. 

Sound familiar? 

Once again, Corbin has signed a late one-year deal with incentives to join a rotation that wasn’t supposed to need him, until it did. He made one ramp-up start for Single-A Dunedin, striking out nine in five innings. Tonight, he will make his Blue Jays debut, slotting in for Toronto in place of the injured Cody Ponce. The Jays are still hoping they won’t need him for long – Trey Yesavage, José Berríos, and Shane Bieber are all working their way back – but if last year continues to be any indication, well…

Corbin was one of just over 50 pitchers to start 30 games in 2025. That’s less than two per team. He wasn’t even on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, but, by season’s end, no one had started more games for Texas. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays needed 12 different starters to get through the regular season (depending on who you define as an opener). Point being, starters get hurt. A lot. So, the ones who don’t are going to get to pitch as much as they can. 

It’s been a long time since Corbin was the frontline arm who helped lead the Washington Nationals to a World Series title in 2019. Nonetheless, he has remained one of baseball’s most hard-wearing starters. At a time when pitcher injuries are unremitting, and change is the only constant of a major league staff, Corbin offers a skill set that every team needs: the capacity to make 30-plus starts and pitch 150-plus MLB-calibre innings, year in and year out. He hasn’t suffered an injury since he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014.

Indeed, over the last 10 years (dating back to the start of the 2016 season), Patrick Corbin has started more games than any other pitcher in the majors. He’s six starts ahead of Kevin Gausman in second place.

Corbin also ranks third among active pitchers in career starts and fourth in innings. He trails Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Jose Quintana in the former, and Verlander, Scherzer, Quintana, and Chris Sale in the latter.

As you might have guessed, Gausman also ranks quite highly on those lists. So, with Verlander and Quintana on the injured list right now, the current Blue Jays rotation features three of the top four active active pitchers in both starts and innings pitched. For the most part, I’m only sharing that as a fun fact. But it’s a fun fact that draws attention to Corbin’s identity in the game today.

Whatever else you think of him, the man can pitch – in the most literal sense of the word.

Unfortunately for Corbin, his skill set is one that every team needs, but no team wants to need it. Since 2020, he owns a 5.41 ERA and a 4.80 FIP. Not once, not twice, but three times he has ranked last among qualified NL pitchers in ERA. 

That’s not to say he brings no value. After all, ranking last among qualified pitchers isn’t really ranking last. A qualified season – that’s 162 innings – is an accomplishment in and of itself. What’s more, Corbin has remained above replacement level in every year of his career, according to FanGraphs. And on top of that, there is absolutely unmeasurable value in consistency and bulk. 

Yet, the problem for a player like Corbin, at least at the outset of the season, is that contending teams want to give their innings to better pitchers. Rebuilding teams want to give their innings to younger arms. Most teams will end up giving 150-plus innings to a combination of pitchers worse than Corbin, but that’s never plan A.

Of course, the 2026 Blue Jays are well past plan A. Thankfully, by the time they knew they needed him, Corbin was still available. He may not have as high a ceiling as any of the first eight pitchers on Toronto’s starting pitching depth chart, but there are worse things than having one of the most available pitchers in baseball available for your team every five days. The Rangers discovered that in 2025. Hopefully, the Blue Jays will have the same experience.

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