The top pitcher on the free-agent market has signed.

Patrick Corbin agreed to a 6-year deal worth upwards of $140 million with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. The deal comes after an off-season of speculation that Corbin was destined to land either with the Philadelphia Phillies or the New York Yankees.

With Patrick Corbin signing with the @Nationals, 4 out of the top 5 finishers in the NL Cy Young race are now in the NL East. 👀 pic.twitter.com/MiVVb1qAo0 — MLB Stats (@MLBStats) December 4, 2018

According to Jon Heyman, it was the sixth year that was the deciding factor for Corbin and ultimately meant him signing with the Nationals. Corbin will join a rotation that already includes the likes of Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, giving the Nationals one of the leagues best trio of starters.

Yankees offer for Corbin was $100M for 5 years. had they been the choice, of course it’s possible they might have gone a little bit higher, but not to 6 years. — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 4, 2018

#Yankees shifting focus to Nathan Eovaldi and J.A. Happ, sources say, now that Patrick Corbin has agreed to a contract with #Nationals. @MLB @MLBNetwork — Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 4, 2018

While the talent of Scherzer, Strasburg and now Corbin is undeniable, the money tied up in the three can come with scrutiny. The three starters will be roughly making a combined $103 million over the course of the 2019 season. To put that in perspective, that number is higher than the total team salaries for 6 MLB teams in 2018. That goes without mentioning any talks of a possible extension for Anthony Rendon and the unlikely return of Bryce Harper.

This is a much worse loss for the Phillies than Yankees. Phils were more aggressive even with the wining and dining. Yanks all week were like, eh, we like him but not as much as some others — Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 4, 2018

Stay with Unfiltered Access for more on this developing story.

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