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Kansas City Royals acquire RHP Nathan Karns from Seattle Mariners for OF Jarrod Dyson
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Royals were interested in Seattle right-hander Nathan Karns going back to the winter meetings, but the Mariners were reluctant to give up a power arm under club control through 2020.
That changed on Friday.
Kansas City got the starting rotation help is so desperately needed.
The Mariners got the speed they sought on the base paths.
"As so often times is the case, once teams know there is a mutual interest in a player -- in their case Jarrod, in our case Nate -- we just stayed in touch and the timing was right," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "The deal was obviously attractive for us."
That could be the final destination for Karns, too. But the power right-hander at least will get a shot at the rotation, where the 29-year-old made 15 starts and finished 6-2 with a 5.15 ERA last season.
He missed the final two months with a back strain that landed him on the disabled list in late July, but Moore said Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto and the Royals' own training staff believe he's fully recovered.
"He's been working out this offseason with no restrictions," Moore said. "Our scouts have done their due diligence. We're comfortable. We've been in touch with where he's been doing part of his physical therapy down in Dallas, I believe, and we're comfortable with where he is."
Meanwhile, the addition of Dyson gives Seattle one of the quickest outfields in baseball.
Dipoto said he envisions Dyson in left field, Leonys Martin in center field and Mitch Haniger in right field, with Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia competing for playing time. But Dipoto was excited about the potential run protection and flexibility that Seattle's outfield will have this season.
"We feel we now have five legitimate center fielders," he said.
Dyson, a former 50th-round draft pick, became a fan favorite in Kansas City thanks primarily to his speed on the bases. He hit .278 while stealing 30 bases a year ago.
"We've had many conversations about Dyson specifically," Dipoto said, "and what a good fit he was for our team. He's an elite-level defender. He's dynamic on the bases, a fearless base stealer. And the combination of Jarrod Dyson, Leonys Martin and Jean Segura hitting somewhere between the bottom and top of your lineup really creates a three-player dynamic on the bases for us that is probably different than the Mariners have had in a long time and perhaps most different than most teams in our league."
"What we need to do is continue to add players we control beyond 2017," Moore said. "Pitching, as we know, is so important. Power pitching is hard to get. Power pitchers you can control is very hard to acquire, as well."
Dipoto said Dyson solidifies the Mariners' lineup, though more moves could happen with pitching.
"We would still like to add," he said. "We still have the capacity to be creative in looking to add. There will be some limitations there, but we're still open to finding ways to get better if possible."
That changed on Friday.
Kansas City got the starting rotation help is so desperately needed.
The Mariners got the speed they sought on the base paths.
"As so often times is the case, once teams know there is a mutual interest in a player -- in their case Jarrod, in our case Nate -- we just stayed in touch and the timing was right," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "The deal was obviously attractive for us."
That could be the final destination for Karns, too. But the power right-hander at least will get a shot at the rotation, where the 29-year-old made 15 starts and finished 6-2 with a 5.15 ERA last season.
He missed the final two months with a back strain that landed him on the disabled list in late July, but Moore said Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto and the Royals' own training staff believe he's fully recovered.
"He's been working out this offseason with no restrictions," Moore said. "Our scouts have done their due diligence. We're comfortable. We've been in touch with where he's been doing part of his physical therapy down in Dallas, I believe, and we're comfortable with where he is."
Meanwhile, the addition of Dyson gives Seattle one of the quickest outfields in baseball.
Dipoto said he envisions Dyson in left field, Leonys Martin in center field and Mitch Haniger in right field, with Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia competing for playing time. But Dipoto was excited about the potential run protection and flexibility that Seattle's outfield will have this season.
"We feel we now have five legitimate center fielders," he said.
Dyson, a former 50th-round draft pick, became a fan favorite in Kansas City thanks primarily to his speed on the bases. He hit .278 while stealing 30 bases a year ago.
"We've had many conversations about Dyson specifically," Dipoto said, "and what a good fit he was for our team. He's an elite-level defender. He's dynamic on the bases, a fearless base stealer. And the combination of Jarrod Dyson, Leonys Martin and Jean Segura hitting somewhere between the bottom and top of your lineup really creates a three-player dynamic on the bases for us that is probably different than the Mariners have had in a long time and perhaps most different than most teams in our league."
"What we need to do is continue to add players we control beyond 2017," Moore said. "Pitching, as we know, is so important. Power pitching is hard to get. Power pitchers you can control is very hard to acquire, as well."
Dipoto said Dyson solidifies the Mariners' lineup, though more moves could happen with pitching.
"We would still like to add," he said. "We still have the capacity to be creative in looking to add. There will be some limitations there, but we're still open to finding ways to get better if possible."