| Tanner Roark | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Roark with theWashington Nationals in 2014 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1986-10-05)October 5, 1986 (age 39) Wilmington, Illinois, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| August 7, 2013, for the Washington Nationals | |||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
| April 18, 2021, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 76–68 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 3.85 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 936 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Tanner Burnell Roark (/roʊˈɑːrk/roh-ARK;[1] born October 5, 1986) is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher. He played inMajor League Baseball for theWashington Nationals,Cincinnati Reds,Oakland Athletics, andToronto Blue Jays. He playedcollege baseball at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Roark played one season with theSouthern Illinois Miners of the independentFrontier League in 2008. In 3 games, he was 0–2 with a 21.41 ERA. In just 9.2 innings, he gave up 23 hits along with 25 runs while striking out 11.[2]
Roark was drafted by theTexas Rangers in the 25th round of the2008 MLB draft.[3] He began his professional career with the rookie ballAZL Rangers, and also appeared with the Single-ABakersfield Blaze. In 2009, Roark split the year between Bakersfield and the Double-AFrisco RoughRiders, pitching to a cumulative 11-1 record and 3.02 ERA with 100 strikeouts. He was assigned to Frisco to begin the 2010 season.[4]
On July 31, 2010, he was traded, along withRyan Tatusko, to theWashington Nationals in exchange forCristian Guzmán.[5]
In 2011, he was promoted to the Triple-ASyracuse Chiefs, and posted, in 28 games (26 starts) an unremarkable 6–17 record, but he posted a 4.39 ERA with 7.9 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings. He began the 2012 season in Syracuse as a starter, then joined the bullpen for 20 relief appearances. Roark moved back to the rotation and had the best stretch of his career, allowing only 12 earned runs over48+2⁄3 innings in eight starts.[6]
On August 6, 2013, Roark was called up to the MLB for the first time,[7] and on the next day pitched two innings of scoreless relief, allowing only one hit. By the end of August he had appeared in nine games in relief, allowing earned runs only twice, and compiling an ERA of 1.19 over22+2⁄3 innings. On September 7, Roark made his first major league start against theMiami Marlins, pitching six innings, allowing no runs and four hits, no walks, and four strikeouts, getting the win.[8] Roark's dominance continued with a September 17 start against the rivalAtlanta Braves in which he pitched seven innings and allowed no runs on just three baserunners. His ERA dropped to 1.08 in41+2⁄3 innings.[9] He finished 7–1 in 14 games (5 starts).[10]
On April 26, 2014, Roark threw his first career complete-game shutout (with a perfect game until the 6th), allowing only 3 hits in a 4–0 win over theSan Diego Padres. In 31 starts, Roark finished 15–10 with a 2.85 ERA in198+2⁄3 innings.[10]
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In 2015, Roark was shifted to the bullpen after the team acquired a few starting pitchers. In 40 games (12 starts), Roark finished 4–7 with an ERA of 4.38 in 111 innings.[10]
Roark was added back to the starting rotation in 2016, and he responded by establishing a career bests in wins (16), ERA (2.83), innings (210) and strikeouts (172).[10] Additionally, he gave up the lowest percentage of hard-hit balls (24.3%) of any qualified starter that year.[11]
In 2017, Roark went 13–11 despite posting a career-worst 4.67 ERA in 32 games (30 starts).[10] He struck out 166 batters in181+1⁄3 innings.
In 2018, Roark went 9–15 with a 4.34 ERA in180+1⁄3 innings.[10]
On December 12, 2018, the Nationals traded Roark to theCincinnati Reds forTanner Rainey.[12] On January 11, 2019, the Reds signed Roark to a one-year contract worth $10 million, avoiding arbitration.[13]
In 2019, Roark went 6–7 with a 4.24 ERA in 110.1 innings (21 starts) prior to being traded to the Oakland Athletics on July 31, 2019.
On July 31, 2019, the Reds traded Roark to theOakland Athletics for Jameson Hannah.[14] In 2019, he allowed the highest line drive percentage of all major league pitchers (17.1%).[15] He became a free agent following the season.
On December 18, 2019, Roark signed a two-year contract worth $24 million with theToronto Blue Jays.[16] With the2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Roark appeared in 11 games, compiling a 2–3 record with 6.80 ERA and 41 strikeouts in47+2⁄3 innings pitched.[17]
Roark pitched to a 6.43 ERA in three games for Toronto in 2021, allowing seven runs in as many innings, before being designated for assignment on April 30, 2021.[18] On May 3, the Blue Jays released Roark.[19]
On May 11, 2021, Roark signed a minor league contract with theAtlanta Braves.[20] On June 24, Roark was selected to the active roster.[21] After posting a 2.14 ERA in 24 appearances (three starts) for theGwinnett Stripers, Roark elected free agency on September 5 when he was outrighted off of the 40-man roster.[22]
Roark was selected to theTeam USA for the2017 World Baseball Classic as a replacement forMax Scherzer. He pitched in relief against theDominican Republic, throwing 41 pitches over1+1⁄3 innings and allowing two earned runs. He later started againstJapan in the semifinals. Roark, who described it as the biggest start of his career, threw 48 pitches over four scoreless innings. Under an agreement between Team USA and theNationals, Roark was limited to no more than 50 pitches. Team USA defeated Japan 2–1, marking their first win in WBC semifinal history. Team USA managerJim Leyland praised Roark's performance post-game, saying, "The key tonight, without question, was Tanner Roark."[23] Team USA would go on to win the championship game againstPuerto Rico, securing their first ever WBC title.
Roark's main pitch was asinker at 92 mph (topping out at 96). He also featured a slider at 85 mph, which he primarily uses against right-handed hitters. Against lefties, he mixed in acurveball at 77 mph and achangeup at 82 mph. He also had a little-usedfour-seam fastball at 92 mph.[24]
Roark has a daughter and son. Roark divorced his wife Amanda in 2021, as seen on his social media page.[25]
