Texas Rangers’ Patrick Corbin Delivers Strong Outing, Raising Expectations

Texas Rangers fans were not expecting much from their last second signing, but he is proving he can exceed those low hopes.

Apr 16, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Patrick Corbin (46) throws to the plate during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have been a pleasant surprise to start the season, sitting at 11-7 tied for first place in the entire American League and going for a sweep over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.

A significant amount of bad injury luck last season led the Rangers to following up their first World Series title in franchise history with a missed playoff appearance, and things seemed to be trending that way throughout the course of spring.

Losing two starters before the season began in Jon Gray and Cody Bradford — both of whom are on the 60-day injured list — the Rangers made a last second free agent signing in veteran left-hander Patrick Corbin.

Corbin remained available throughout the offseason after a rough last few seasons for the Washington Nationals, but he found a job due to the fact that even though he has a 5.71 ERA over the last four years, he is dependable as they come and has made a full slate of starts for nearly a decade straight.

As uninspiring as bringing in Corbin was to Texas fans, the unfortunate reality is that they needed someone to eat innings and there's nobody better at that job than the 35-year-old veteran.

The first start went fairly predictably last week for Corbin, allowing five hits and three earned runs in just four innings with two walks and no strikeouts during a cold weather loss to the Chicago Cubs.

On Wednesday night however against the Angels, the lefty appeared to find his form and earned his first victory in a Rangers uniform with an impressive 5.1 innings which led to five hits and just one earned run along with six strikeouts and only one walk.

After the game, Corbin spoke to the media about feeling more comfortable from his first start to he second.

"I think some different pitch usage there, especially when we got the two strikes, it was a little bit different today, and that was something that we talked about," he said via Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. "Game to game, it definitely changes. But like I said, it was good to get that one out of the way in Chicago and be able to come here and get better. I just hope to continue to improve."

While Corbin is the definition of a high-floor, low-ceiling type pitcher, perhaps he can end of being even more valuable than Texas though he could be when they signed him.

Corbin was brought in to do one thing and one thing only, and that is to churn away innings.

However, if he can be the version of himself that he was on Wednesday night, there's a chance he can wind up being a whole lot more than that.

As the Rangers try to weather the injury storm, someone like Corbin who you know is going to be out there no matter what seemingly finding a second gear could potentially work wonders for the pitching staff as a whole.