It might still be early, but Patrick Corbin is making a strong case for himself as comeback player of the year. With a 3.52 ERA through 61.1 innings, he has shown a return to form after signing with the Texas Rangers.
After winning the World Series in 2019 with the Nationals, Corbin struggled for years in Washington. In that first season, through 33 starts, he had a 3.25 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and won 14 games. His next best campaign, the 2020 covid-shortened season, he posted a 4.66 ERA and continued to slide for four years. Corbin finished his tenure with the Nats with a 47-77 record and 5.12 ERA. Hardly what he had contributed during their World Series win, or what he had been signed six years for.
There were a few highlights in Washington, though. Corbin won his one hundredth game in a Nats uniform, and he earned the win in game seven of their World Series run. But if all had gone well, it’s entirely possible Corbin could have won more games than he lost as a National. In 2022 alone, he lost 19 games and his ERA was an all time high of 6.31.
Such a dismal performance wouldn’t have created expectations for him to be doing as well as he is this year.
After entering free agency at the end of 2024, Corbin signed with the Texas Rangers just days before the 2025 season started. So far, it has proved to be a worthwhile contract and he has shown himself to be a valuable lefty in the starting rotation.
Through ten starts this season, Corbin has a record of 3-5, but it does not tell the whole story. He has not allowed more than three runs in a start so far — only 24 runs total and a 2.39 BA against — and his WHIP is back to where it was the year he won the World Series with the Nats. Although he is not dominating with the strikeout, with a K/BB ratio of 43/18, Corbin has been consistently less hittable than in previous years, something that becomes more relevant when the Rangers are averaging only 3.37 runs per game.
Not only that, but he has continued to be durable on the mound and eat up innings.
Corbin returned to Washington last night, to open a three game series against the Nats, and he threw a complete game loss. Going all eight innings for the Rangers, he allowed only two runs on five hits, giving up one home run.
Corbin was outdueled by Michael Soroka and the Nationals bullpen, handing him his fifth loss of the year. “It just didn’t work out for us today,” he said. Still, going eight innings and allowing two runs is a win in most cases, and Corbin has reason to be happy with his performance.
“I felt good,” he said. “Today was more of a pitcher’s game, for sure. I was just locating the fastball, getting ahead of guys. You get some confidence back there, you start attacking guys.”
Even more of a good reason to attack hitters is the defense playing behind Corbin. The Rangers converted 13 groundballs and nine flyballs into outs last night, and a solid defense could be a factor for Corbin as he strikes less batters out and pitches more to contact.
In any case, even a complete game loss shows how Corbin has turned his career around after five years of being one of the worst starting pitchers in the league. Going from being expected to lose, to free agency, to emergency signing, to reliable starter again, is a drastic improvement that nobody else in the league has matched. For that reason alone, Patrick Corbin deserves to be named the Comeback Player of the Year.
https://images.app.goo.gl/W1XNNBHAS5r4sEjJA do I need to find images that are creative commons or use others and give credit?
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