MLB Rumors: The Player The Nationals Want To Unload In Any Soto Trade

Any team would be interested in taking Juan Soto off the Washington Nationals' hands. But multiple MLB Insiders say that any such team would also have to take the huge albatross contract of Patrick Corbin off the Nats' hands as well.

According to Jon Heyman, the Nationals are expected to request a combination of the following for Soto leading up to the trade deadline on August 2:

A team's top four prospects
Young Major Leaguers
Willingness to take on Patrick Corbin's contract
— MichiganYankees (@MichiganYankees) July 19, 2022

Right-hander Patrick Corbin signed a 6-year, $140M contract with Washington in 2018, and the 33-year-old still has 2-and-a-half years remaining, that tops off with a $35M salary in 2024.

One report notes that Corbin "actively boasts the title of worst starting pitcher in the MLB since the start of the 2021 season, possessing a 5.84 ERA in 50 appearances during that span."

Overall, in his 94 starts for the Nationals, the lefty is 29-42 with a 4.73 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.

Of course, that's nothing compared to the output that Stephen Strasburg has supplied since signing a 7-year, $245M extension with the Nats in 2019. Since then, he's accumulated a total of exactly one win in just 8 starts, while allowing 24 earned runs in 31.1 innings. Over three seasons. He's now out for the year once again.

Any inclusion of his contract might make trading Soto virtually impossible.

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