Patrick Corbin visits Phillies at Citizens Bank Park

Patrick Corbin recently pitched the best season of his career: 3.15 ERA, 5.13 SO/W, and 4.6 WAR in 200.0 IP. For the Diamondbacks in 2018, he was durable, he was effective, and good lord, right-handed batters hit only .213 against him all year. He’s a hot commodity on the free agent starting pitching market, and you know what that means: The Yankees are lurking.

And they should be, because Corbin would be a great fit for them. GM Brian Cashman went out and got James Paxton from the Mariners already, but the Yankees haven’t hidden that they want more than two viable weapons in their rotation.

But that doesn’t mean the Phillies don’t get to shoot their shot.

They rolled out the red carpet for a visit from the 29-year-old lefty at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday afternoon, who is according to Jim Salisbury, “high on Phillies’ wish list.” They even put a picture of Corbin wearing a Phillies hat and uniform up on the big screen in an effort to I guess trick him into thinking he was already on the team.

It doesn’t seem crazy for the Phillies to sit Corbin down and make an offer on a day like this, but that remains to be seen.

Lately, it’s become the repeated sentiment that the Phillies have no problem adding free agents prior to any dealings with Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, and their rotation is certainly an area of need. Signing pitchers to deals longer than, say, three or four years does not seem to be Matt Klentak’s style, however, so it’ll be interesting to see what the team ends up having to say to Corbin when they’re done letting the Phanatic perform a one-man show about his life.