Nathan Alan Karns (born November 25, 1987) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Career

Amateur

Karns attended James W. Martin High School in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

, where he played for the school's baseball team. He enrolled at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball The Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball team represents Texas Tech University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team competes in the Big 12 Conference and plays at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. Their head coach is Tim Tadlock and is ente ...

team. In 2008, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

Washington Nationals

The

drafted Karns in the 12th round, with the 352nd overall selection, of the

2009 Major League Baseball draft The 2009 Major League Baseball draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The drafting order is as follows: First-round selections Key Supplemental first-round selections From Baseball Americ ...

. His professional career was delayed as he had shoulder surgery in 2010, and didn't make his professional debut until 2011. In 2012, Karns began the year with the Single–A

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A (baseball), Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They pl ...

, and then was promoted to the High–A

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were situated in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to ...

. His combined record was 11–4, and was named the Nationals Minor Pitcher of the Year in 2012. On November 20, 2012, the Nationals added Karns to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. When Ross Detwiler suffered an injury, Karns was called up to take his place in the pitching rotation, and made his major league debut on May 28, 2013. He started, and lasted innings, allowing three earned runs, five hits, and two walks, in a game the Nationals won, 9–3.

Tampa Bay Rays

On February 13, 2014, Karns was traded to the

in exchange for José Lobatón, Felipe Rivero and Drew Vettleson. Karns spent the majority of the season with the Triple–A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

. He made two starts for the Rays in 2014, posting a 4.50 ERA with 14 strikeouts. Due to numerous injuries to begin the 2015 season, the Rays gave Karns a rotation spot for

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

. On July 21, 2015, pitching against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in Philadelphia, Karns hit his first major league home run as the Rays defeated the Phillies, 1–0. It was the first time since 1962 that an American League pitcher had homered in a 1–0 game. Karns made 27 appearances (26 starts) for the Rays, averaging nine strikeouts per nine innings despite logging just under six innings per start. He compiled a 7–5 record and 3.67 ERA with 145 strikeouts across 147 innings.

Seattle Mariners

On November 5, 2015, the Rays traded Karns, C. J. Riefenhauser, and Boog Powell to the

in exchange for Brad Miller, Danny Farquhar, and

Logan Morrison Justis Logan Morrison (born August 25, 1987), nicknamed "LoMo", is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, Florida/Miami Marlins, Seattle Mariners, ...

. Karns began the season in Seattle's rotation but was then demoted to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

after struggling. He made eight relief appearances before being shut down for the season in early August with a back strain. Karns finished the season with a 6–2 record, 5.15 ERA, and 101 strikeouts in 94 innings.

Kansas City Royals

On January 6, 2017, Karns was traded to the

in exchange for Jarrod Dyson. His 2017 season with Kansas City was cut short due to injury, undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in July. Karns finished the season 2–2 with a 4.17 ERA in nine games (eight starts). He missed the entire 2018 season with right elbow inflammation. Karns elected free agency after the Royals outrighted him to the minors on October 31, 2018.

Baltimore Orioles

Karns signed a one–year, major league contract with the

on February 7, 2019. The deal was worth a reported $800,000 guaranteed, with $200,000 in incentive bonuses for 100 innings pitched. He appeared in four games before being placed on the disabled list with a forearm strain. On July 26, Karns was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Orioles. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple–A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

on August 2. Karns was released by the Orioles organization on August 7.

Personal life

Nathan Karns got married in December 2015 to Jennifer Karns (formerly Jennifer Boecker). Karns is currently a realtor for real estate firm Rogers Healy and Associates Real Estate in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

References

External links

Texas Tech Red Raiders bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karns, Nathan 1987 births Living people Auburn Doubledays players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Venango County, Pennsylvania Bowie Baysox players Durham Bulls players Falmouth Commodores players Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast Nationals players Gulf Coast Orioles players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Martin High School (Arlington, Texas) alumni Norfolk Tides players People from Franklin, Pennsylvania Potomac Nationals players Seattle Mariners players Tampa Bay Rays players Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen