Y'ever wonder what Rizzo tells Mini Me he can get for Corbin at the deadline? I'm not sure the Cubs would give him an Ernie Banks rookie card. But Mini Me probably just says "hey, I'm paying him $25m this year, and $10m next year in deferrrals! he must pitch!
w/r/t Corbin, I'm not going to go "it's just playing the contract" at this point until we get to the point where he's taking a spot away from someone who is going to perform better or has shown he needs to pitch in the majors now to get to his potential. There is no one in Rochester performing at that level. Ward, Adon, Rutledge, and Herz are all pitching pretty badly this year. They have another AAAA guy, but I have zero expectation of an upgrade. The pitchers at Harrisburg aren't ready yet, either.
As between Gray and Corbin, it is a disappointingly close call. If Corbin is still in the rotation when Cavalli and Gray are healthy, and Parker and Irvin are sent down for no credible reason, then I'll say it is just playing the contract. You could also have an argument that they should have spent money this winter, but at this point in the development curve, I want to see system products - Cavalli, Gore, Gray, Irvin, and another internal (would have planned on Rutledge over the winter, but am more than pleased with Parker so far).
