Raymond Alexander Kerr (born September 10, 1994) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres.

Amateur career

Kerr graduated from

Hug High School Procter R. Hug High School is a fully accredited public high school in Reno, Nevada, and belongs to the Washoe County School District. Hug High was built on a hillside in east Reno in 1968 to serve students from rapidly growing areas. Like many ...

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, in 2013. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for Mendocino College for two years and then quit baseball, returning home to work at a movie theater and a

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

. The new college baseball coach at

Lassen College Lassen Community College is a public community college in Susanville, California. It is a part of the California Community Colleges System. The college is located in Susanville in the high mountain lake country of northeastern California. The ...

convinced him to join his team. 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 ...

for the

Peninsula Oilers The Peninsula Oilers are a college summer baseball club in the Alaska Baseball League. The Oilers are based in Kenai, Alaska, and their name refers to the Kenai Peninsula region. They are the league's southernmost team. The team was founded in 1 ...

in the

Alaska Baseball League The Alaska Baseball League (ABL) is an amateur collegiate summer baseball league. Players in the league must have attended one year of college and must have one year of NCAA eligibility remaining. The Midnight Sun Game, held at Growden Memorial ...

in 2017, where he reached with his fastball.

Career

Seattle Mariners

Kerr signed with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They 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 League ...

as an

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on August 24, 2017. He made his professional debut with the Single-A Clinton LumberKings in 2018, logging a 5–11 record and 4.28 ERA with 101 strikeouts across 25 starts. In 2019, Kerr split the season between the High-A Modesto Nuts and the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, posting a 4–7 record and 3.82 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 92.0 innings of work across 36 total appearances. Kerr did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He split the 2021 campaign between the Double-A Arkansas Travelers and Tacoma, pitching to a 3.18 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 36 appearances. The Mariners added him 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, and ...

to protect him from the Rule 5 draft following the season on November 19, 2021.

San Diego Padres

On November 27, 2021, the Mariners traded Kerr and outfielder Corey Rosier to the San Diego Padres in exchange for

Adam Frazier Adam Timothy Frazier (born December 14, 1991) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres and Seattle Ma ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas to begin the 2022 season. On April 22, 2022, Kerr was promoted to major leagues for the first time to replace the injured

Pierce Johnson Pierce William Johnson (born May 10, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres and ...

. He made his major league debut on April 24. He appeared in seven games for San Diego in his rookie campaign, pitching to a 9.00 ERA with three strikeouts in five innings pitched. Kerr was optioned to Triple-A El Paso to begin the 2023 season.

Atlanta Braves

On December 15, 2023, the Padres traded Kerr, Matt Carpenter, and cash considerations to the

in exchange for Drew Campbell. He was optioned to the Triple–A Gwinnett Stripers to begin the 2024 season. On May 7, 2024, Kerr was selected to the active roster following an injury to

Tyler Matzek Tyler Alexander Matzek (born October 19, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the 2009 MLB draft, and made his MLB ...

. On May 24, Kerr made his first career start against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. In 10 games, he recorded a 5.64 ERA with 27 strikeouts across innings pitched. On June 24, it was announced that Kerr would require

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, ending his season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Ray Living people 1994 births African-American baseball players Arizona League Mariners players Arkansas Travelers players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Sacramento, California Clinton LumberKings players El Paso Chihuahuas players Gwinnett Stripers players Lassen Community College Cougars baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Mendocino Eagles baseball players Modesto Nuts players Peninsula Oilers players Peoria Javelinas players San Diego Padres players Tacoma Rainiers players