WASHINGTON — When the Nationals ultimately parted with Bryce Harper, they were at least in part making a calculation -- that the resources they wouldn’t be using on him could be better allocated in other ways.
Most significantly, that hedge took the form of Patrick Corbin.
You can’t really call it a straight swap -- Harper got a contract more than twice as large as Corbin did – but, roughly, that was the practical effect.
And it’s pretty safe to say it paid off.
Corbin will take the mound Saturday night for the Nationals, starting a pivotal World Series Game 4 that could put Washington in commanding position to win the title. It’s the exact kind of scenario that made the Nats target the left-hander last offseason, giving him a reported $140 million contract to set up a "Big Three" with Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer.
Corbin delivered on expectations during the regular season, going 14-7 with a 3.25 ERA. He was one of the hardest to hit pitchers in the majors, as well, with 238 strikeouts.
Adding that kind of dominance to Strasburg and Scherzer was a key ingredient in what made the Nationals into a true title contender this season. Even Bryce Harper himself foresaw how another arm like Corbin might have been the real missing piece.
"Not signing me, they were able to go out and get the starting pitching that they needed and the pitching that they needed for their bullpen," the now-Phillies outfielder said earlier this month.
Corbin has been kind of a mixed bag to this point in the postseason – he was wild in six innings of an NLDS Game 1 loss to the Dodgers, walking five, but he also struck out nine and only allowed one earned run. In his last start, Game 4 of the NLCS, he surrendered four runs in five innings, but struck out 12.
In between, he made three relief appearances – two flawless, one where he managed to get tagged for six runs without even completing a full inning.
A bit of good, a bit of bad.
He’s coming off a critical relief appearance in Game 1, however, helping hold down the 5-4 win in Houston with a clean sixth inning. And he said after Game 3 on Friday night that he’s ready to seize the moment in Game 4.
"These are games I want to pitch in, I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to go out there and help us win a ball game," he said. "This is what you prepare for all offseason, to pitch in these games and just to have the opportunity to go out there give it my best."
And, given that he was among the handful of top pitchers in the National League this season, his best is usually good enough to get the win.
If he can be the first pitcher to guide Washington to a home victory in a World Series since Earl Whitehill in 1933, it’ll be the ultimate payoff for the Nationals after they effectively chose him over Harper.
And it’ll put the Nats just one win away from winning it all.