The Phillies Wanted to Spend Stupid, The Nats Might’ve Spent Too Stupid With Patrick Corbin

It was looking like LHP pitcher Patrick Corbin was going to be a Philadelphia Phillie…until he wasn’t.

 

 

Huge bummer to seem to have a guy all but locked on your roster, only to have him sign with a division rival instead. A division rival that already bolsters a pretty impressive starting rotation. Oh well, I guess it’s time to start the #BringHappHome campaign.

Corbin would have been a great lock down lefty in what was already a lethal rotation. But, once again, a Washington team has made an ill-advised move that will ultimately benefit Philly. Corbin’s deal is way too big. Say what you want about being a little bit stupid with FA money, but the Phils would’ve been kicking themselves four years into this deal with an aging pitcher with a history of injury. Hell, look at the Cubs, it didn’t even take a year for the Darvish deal to bite them in the ass. Not to mention that the Nats now have $525 million invested in three starting pitchers on a team with very little going on other than Juan Soto. Overpaying only makes their chances at affording Bryce Harper that much more difficult. They had an upsetting year when they were supposed to run away with the division so a deal like this makes no sense when, if they don’t land Harper back, they should be gutting the operation.

So, the Phillies are 1-1 on the Spend Stupid Tour. An arm like Corbin’s would’ve been nice to pair with Nola, but I’m not super bummed. It’s hard to be when you’re this stoked over the Jean Segura deal.

Additionally, the Phillies got a solid left-handed reliever as a throw in that deal yesterday.  A THROWN IN. The Phillies haven’t had a solid left handed reliever since when? Jake Diekman? They just landed one as a way to balance salaries in a deal where the main piece was an all-star shortstop. Amazing.

Lastly, to bring this thing full circle, the Phillies have set one of their biggest offseason goals into motion: take Rhys’ Hoskins game next level. Matt Klentak was begging and pleading teams to take the Carlos Santana contact off his hands. He would’ve dumped him on the Scranton Railriders if he could. Seattle was the sucker who took it in the end. For Hoskins, he now gets to move back to his natural position of first base. Plus, the Phillies maintain the cap space to add weapons in the lineup that will take pressure off of him. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are global stars. But Hoskins, a homegrown star, will always be the face of the franchise. You want to keep a centerpiece like that happy. The Phils seem to be spending the offseason doing just that.

 

The Phillies missed on their first big name free agent. We will see if it ends up haunting them or if they were better off spending money elsewhere. Many more fish in the sea to catch.  

By Aidan Powers | December 4, 2018