2 bounce-back starters KC Royals should consider, 1 to avoid

The Royals should pass on Patrick Corbin

There have been plenty of good moments for Corbin, who spent half of his 12-year big league career with the Arizona Diamondbacks before moving on to the Washington Nationals after the 2018 season. He won 14 games twice and 11 once with the Diamondbacks, and went 14-7 with a 3.25 ERA for the 2019 World Series-winning Nationals. He's even made two All-Star teams.

But Corbin has suffered much the same fate as the Nationals since that 2019 World Championship — both pitcher and club have lost far more times than they've won. The left-hander is 31-63 with an ugly 5.71 ERA in the four years since he won the Series-clinching game for Washington.

To say Corbin needs a bounce-back season states the obvious, but he's not a pitcher the Royals need to take a chance on.

He lost more games (19) than any other major leaguer in 2022, and tied for that indignity in 2021 with 16. In 2023, he lost 15 times, and racked up 13 losses this year. In none of those seasons did injuries cause him to miss any appreciable time.

It appears, then, that Corbin's best years are behind him and — to be blunt — he just doesn't pitch particularly well anymore. He may find a job and make a big comeback, but his recent record suggests otherwise. His name appearing on Picollo's list of rotation candidates would be a surprise.

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