Tanner B. Roark ( ; born October 5, 1986) 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 ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

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), ...

for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

Professional career

Southern Illinois Miners

Roark played one season with the

Southern Illinois Miners The Southern Illinois Miners were a professional baseball team based in Marion, Illinois. The Miners were members of the West Division of the independent Frontier League. From 2007 to 2021, the Miners played their home games at Rent One Park. Th ...

of the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

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.

Texas Rangers

Roark was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 25th round of the

2008 MLB draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. He began his professional career with the rookie ball

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is composed ...

, and also appeared with the Single-A

Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facing ...

. In 2009, Roark split the year between Bakersfield and the Double-A

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

, pitching to a cumulative 11-1 record and 3.02 ERA with 100 strikeouts. He was assigned to Frisco to begin the 2010 season.

Washington Nationals

On July 31, 2010, he was traded, along with

Ryan Tatusko Ryan P. Tatusko (born Match 27, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League. Professional career Texas Rangers Tatusko was the Texas Rangers eighteen-round pick in the 2007 Major ...

, to the

in exchange for

Cristian Guzmán Cristian Antonio Guzmán (born March 21, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, and Texas Rangers. Professional career Minnesota Twins ...

. In 2011, he was promoted to the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, 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 over innings in eight starts. On August 6, 2013, Roark was called up to the MLB for the first time, 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 over innings. On September 7 Roark made his first major league start against the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

, pitching six innings, allowing no runs and four hits, no walks, and four strikeouts, getting the win. Roark's dominance continued with a September 17 start against the rival

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 ...

in which he pitched seven innings and allowed no runs on just three baserunners. His ERA dropped to 1.08 in innings. He finished 7–1 in 14 games (5 starts).Tanner Roark Stats , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> 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 the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. In 31 starts, Roark finished 15–10 with a 2.85 ERA in innings. 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. The 2016 season saw Roark put back in the rotation and establish career bests in wins (16), ERA (2.83), innings (210) and strikeouts (172). For the 2016 season he led the majors in giving up the lowest percentage of hard-hit balls (24.3%). In 2017, Roark went 13–11 despite posting a career-worst 4.67 ERA in 32 games (30 starts). He struck out 166 batters in innings. In 2018, Roark went 9–15 with a 4.34 ERA in innings.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 12, 2018, the Nationals traded Roark to the

for

Tanner Rainey Tanner Scott Rainey (born December 25, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 2015 Major League Baseball dra ...

. On January 11, 2019, the Reds signed Roark to a one-year contract worth $10 million, avoiding arbitration. 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.

Oakland Athletics

On July 31, 2019, the Reds traded Roark to the

for Jameson Hannah. In 2019, he allowed the highest line drive percentage of all major league pitchers (17.1%).

Toronto Blue Jays

On December 18, 2019, Roark signed a two-year contract worth $24 million with the

. With the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Roark appeared in 11 games, compiling a 2–3 record with 6.80 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 47.2 innings pitched. Roark struggled to a 6.43 ERA in 3 games for Toronto in 2021, and allowed 7 runs in as many innings before being designated for assignment on April 30, 2021. On May 3, the Blue Jays released Roark.

Atlanta Braves

On May 10, 2021, Roark signed a minor league deal with the

organization. On June 24, Roark was selected to the active roster. After posting a 2.14 ERA in 24 appearances (three starts) for the

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

, Roark elected free agency on September 5 when he was outrighted off of the 40-man roster.

International career

He was selected

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

at the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

as a replacement for

Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, and L ...

. Roark pitched in relief versus the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, throwing 41 pitches over innings, allowing two earned runs. Roark started vs

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the 2017 WBC semifinals. Roark, who described it as the biggest start of his career, threw 48 pitches over four complete innings, allowing no runs. Under an agreement between Team USA and the Nationals, Roark was limited to no more than 50 pitches. Team USA defeated Japan 2–1 for their first win in WBC semifinal history. Team USA manager

Jim Leyland James Richard Leyland (born December 15, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He serves as a special assistant to the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Leyland led the Florida Marlins to the 19 ...

praised Roark's performance post-game saying, "The key tonight, without question, was Tanner Roark."

Pitching style

Roark's main pitch is a sinker at 92 mph (topping out at 96). Against right-handed hitters, he also features a slider at 85 mph. Against lefties he mixes in a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

at 77 mph and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

at 82 mph. He also has a little-used

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is ca ...

at 92 mph.

Personal life

Roark and his wife Amanda have two daughters. They had their first son in September 2018.

References

External links

Illinois Fighting Illini bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roark, Tanner 1986 births Living people Arizona League Rangers players Bakersfield Blaze players Baseball players from Illinois Bravos de Margarita players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cincinnati Reds players Frisco RoughRiders players Gwinnett Stripers players Harrisburg Senators players Illinois Fighting Illini baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Oakland Athletics players People from Wilmington, Will County, Illinois Southern Illinois Miners players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players Washington Nationals players World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2017 World Baseball Classic players