By Joe Schiller
Coming off a franchise-worst 47-115 record, it's been a slow start for the Orioles in the free agent market.
Mike Elias made it clear that the Orioles weren't going to spend big money this offseason as the team enters a rebuilding phase but the new general manager has reportedly made his first signing.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Thursday that the Orioles signed pitcher Nathan Karns to a one-year, $800,000 contract. The contract includes $200k in incentives.
Pitcher Nathan Karns signs one-year $800,000 contract with #Orioles that includes $200k in incentives
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 7, 2019Karns, 31, is a former 12th round pick by the Washington Nationals back in 2009. He's spent five years in the majors from 2013-2018 with the Nationals, Rays, Mariners and most recently the Royals.
Karns' best season came with the Rays in 2015. He finished 7-5 with an ERA of 3.67 in 27 games.
The timing is perfect for Karns as pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training next week, February 13th.
The Orioles are still shaping out their pitching rotation heading into the regular season but Karns signals the beginning of a leadership under Elias, led by a newly-implemented analytics department.
