Patrick Corbin is going to be a National.
Washington agreed to terms on a six-year deal with the 29-year-old left-hander on Tuesday, sources confirmed to MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi and Jamal Collier -- emerging with the prize starting pitcher on this year's free-agent market. The deal, first reported by the Washington Post's Chelsea Janes, is pending a physical.
A source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand that Corbin's deal will be for $140 million -- exceeding the $126 million guaranteed that Yu Darvish got last offseason when he signed with the Cubs, which was the largest pitcher contract awarded in last offseason's free agency. That would put the value of Corbin's deal at over $23 million a year on average.
Corbin broke out as one of the best pitchers in the National League in 2018, going 11-7 with a 3.15 ERA in 33 starts for the D-backs while striking out 246 batters in 200 innings. Corbin was an All-Star for the second time in his six-year career and finished fifth in the NL Cy Young Award voting.
Corbin's wipeout slider was one of MLB's most dominant pitches. He racked up 195 strikeouts on his slider alone, getting 387 swings-and-misses with the pitch. Both led all Major League pitchers by a huge margin -- Jakob Junis was second in slider strikeouts with 124, and Chris Archer was second in slider swings-and-misses with 211.
Corbin is a huge get for the Nationals, who now have a starting rotation to rival any team in the Majors, with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Corbin as their Nos. 1, 2 and 3 pitchers.
Corbin had been linked to a slate of teams in free agency this offseason. In recent days, the Nationals, Yankees and Phillies had emerged as the front-runners to sign him. According to Morosi, the Yankees made a five-year offer to Corbin but did not increase the number of years.
Because the Nationals exceeded the luxury tax last year and Corbin received a qualifying offer from the D-backs, the Nationals will forfeit their second- and fifth-highest picks in next June's Draft, as well as $1 million in international bonus pool money. If Bryce Harper signs elsewhere, the Nationals will receive a compensation pick after the fourth round, meaning they would forfeit their second-round pick and their compensation pick for Harper for signing Corbin.
Since the overall value of the deal exceeded $50 million and the D-backs are a team that receives revenue sharing, Arizona will receive a comp pick at the end of the first round.