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Can a spot in the Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen save Patrick Corbin?

By Trisha Garcia

PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 08: Starting pitcher Patrick Corbin #46 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts on the mound during the fourth inning of the MLB game against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field on September 8, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 08: Starting pitcher Patrick Corbin #46 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts on the mound during the fourth inning of the MLB game against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field on September 8, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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It’s never too early to start looking at the potential starting rotation for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018, especially with the status of the current contracts

The Arizona Diamondbacks have six starters on their payroll, four of which are arbitration eligible at the end of the season.

One of those four is Patrick Corbin whose woes could ruin his chances of returning to the team.

Corbin earned $3.95M to pitch in an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform in 2017, but he will be arbitration eligible whenever the season ends.

For a brief second, Corbin returned to his pre-2014 Tommy John surgery self, but it was short lived. He holds a 14-13 record, but more impactful, he has a 4.14 ERA this season.

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In his five starts between August 12 and September 2, Corbin pitched 35.2 innings and only allowed two earned runs. His ERA during that run was 0.50, but not enough to significantly lower the 5.04 ERA he has in his other 26 starts.

That alone questions the status of his return to the team in 2018. But, there’s always the option of putting him in the bullpen after a rough year, like they did with Archie Bradley.

Archie Bradley was 8-9 as a starter for the Diamondbacks with a 5.02 ERA in 2016.

He has 1.20 ERA in the bullpen.

Now, their stats as starters don’t correlate to success in the bullpen, but there is a key similarity that could point to Corbin having similar success to Bradley.

Patrick Corbin has a 7.55 ERA in the first innings of his 31 starts. Archie Bradley had a 6.23 ERA in the first innings of his 26 starts in 2016.

But, there’s a significant difference between Bradley struggling to get out of the first inning as a rookie versus Corbin struggling to do the same in his sixth year as a starter.

This could be an option in arbitration talks if the Diamondbacks choose to keep Corbin around for the 2018 season.

"Jimmie Sherfy should be the Arizona Diamondbacks closer in 2018"

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