As the Texas Rangers continue to look like they’re nothing more than a long shot to make the Wild Card, the time has come to start looking towards 2026. One move the team can make to get ready for next season is to give a more prolonged look to Kumar Rocker and move Patrick Corbin to the bullpen, or hope that someone out there might have a use for him off waivers before August 31.
Corbin started this season looking like he had a new lease on life. He was legitimately one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 campaign. However, the clock has struck 12 on the veteran pitcher, and his fairy godmother’s magic has worn off.
Patrick Corbin’s time with the Texas Rangers is up
Over his last seven starts, the Texas Rangers pitcher has posted an 0-2 record with a 6.07 ERA. He’s also walked 15 and struck out just 27 in his last 29.2 innings. And Corbin has been even worse than that in August.
So far, Corbin’s ERA is at 11.48 in August, and his control continues to get worse. He’s walked 10 batters in 13.1 innings this month compared to just 8 strikeouts. His longest outing in the last four was just 4.1 innings, and he’s allowed at least three runs in every start. That includes Thursday’s loss to the Kansas City Royals, where he managed to last just 3.2 innings, allowed 7 hits and 4 earned runs while also walking 2 and striking out just 2 batters.
The team is desperate for wins but often falls behind early in his starts. The offense is inconsistent, and Corbin has been the weakest link in a rotation that usually delivers for quite a while now.
Meanwhile, while the Rangers are trying to fix some “delivery issues” with Rocker, when they’ve decided those problems are fixed, it’s time to move him back to the rotation, and see how that works for however long the rest of the season ends up being. Rocker will be expected to be a staple in the rotation at some point if he’s not a total bust. Corbin, on the other hand, isn’t part of Texas’ long-term plans.
With playoff contention no longer a realistic possibility, the Texas Rangers have to start the evaluation phase. They already know what they have in Patrick Corbin, and he’s not the answer to any question having to do with 2026.
