Yanks Miss Out on Top Target Corbin

Perhaps the top pitcher available this off-season is off the board. The New York Yankees free agent  “priority” Patrick Corbin agreed to  six year deal with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

The deal is worth $140 million. Multiple reports state the Yankees offered $100 million over five years, and were not willing to extend the offer to six years.

The  Bombers have given out a contract longer than five years to a starting pitcher only three times in the teams history, Mike Mussina, C.C. Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka.

Corbin, who grew up in Syracuse, made no secret of his desire to pitch for the Yankees before signing with the Nationals. In this instance, an extra year of security outweighed pitching for his hometown.

The 2018 All-Star signing with Washington came as quite a surprise to many as the expected favorites were the Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. The righty was in high demand after pitching 200 innings, posting over 200 hundred strike outs and pitching to a 3.15 ERA with the Diamondback last season.

The main focus this off-season for the Yankees is pitching. The Bombers are set to move onto their “Plan B,” which includes J.A. Happ, Nathan Eovaldi, and Lance Lynn. The Yankees also remain in contact with the Cleveland Indians regarding Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco.

Eovaldi and Happ are certainly a step down from Corbin, but the starters would not require the six year deal that it took to sign Corbin. Missing out on Corbin is a big blow for Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman along with the rest of the Yankees front office, but Happ and Eovaldi make for a solid “plan B.”

Happ was 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA in his 11 starts for the Bombers last season. Eovaldi appeared in 12 games for the Red Sox after being traded to Boston from the Tampa Bay Rays. His signature moment came in the World Series, pitching scoreless innings in Games one and two out of the bullpen for the Sox as well as pitching six innings in the longest game in World Series history in game three.