Pittsburgh Pirates Where Are They Now: Pitcher Jeff Karstens

In the latest installment of our where are they now series we take a look at a former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher who nearly made history in 2008

On July 26, 2008, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a six-player trade with the New York Yankees. In this trade, the Pirates received outfielder Jose Tabata, who was the focus of our first installment in the where are they now series.

For the second installment of this series, we will focus on another player the Pittsburgh Pirates received in this trade. This player was not as highly touted as Tabata, he went on to outperform his expectations with the Pirates will becoming a fan favorite. Who is that player? Pitcher Jeff Karstens.

Karstens was viewed by many as nothing more than a throw in part of the trade. However, it did not take him long to make an impression on Pittsburgh Pirates fans.

In his second start with the Pirates, Karstens nearly made history. Facing the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Karstens took a perfect game into the 8th inning. He even got the first two outs of the 8th inning, before Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young doubled down the left field line.

Karstens would make seven more starts for the Pirates in 2008. In his nine starts with the Bucs, he posted a 4.03 ERA, 4.77 FIP and a 5.9% walk rate. While these are not great numbers, they were more than good enough for a back of the rotation starting pitcher.

The next two seasons would be challenging ones for Karstens. Between 2009 and 2010 he appeared in 65 games for the Pirates, with 32 of them being starts. Karstens pitched 230.2 innings in these 65 games, posting a 5.15 ERA, 4.85 FIP, a strong 7.2% walk rate, but a poor 12.4% strikeout rate. He also allowed home runs at a 1.29 HR/9 clip.

In the 2011 season, however, Karstens would start a strong, and unforeseen, two year stretch. A two year stretch that saw the Pittsburgh Pirates start to lay the groundwork for three consecutive postseason berths from 2013-2015.

Karstens pitched in 30 games in 2011, with 26 of them being starts. Logging a career high 162.1 innings, he posted a 3.38 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 4.9% walk rate, 14.4% strikeout rate, and a 1.1 fWAR. Following the 2011 season, it appeared Karstens was on his way to becoming a permanent fixture in the Pirate starting rotation.

The 2012 season was another strong one for Karstens. Well, when he was healthy that is. Karstens posted a 3.97 ERA, a career low 3.32 FIP, and a career best 17.7% strikeout rate in 90.2 innings of work in 19 games (15 starts). He also posted a career best 1.8 fWAR.

Unfortunately for Karstens, injuries limited him to just those 19 games in 2012. This led to a move that at the time was confusing, Karstens was non-tendered following the 2012 season making him a free agent. It would later come to light that this move was made due to the Pirates having injury concerns about the righty.

Karstens would re-sign with the Pirates in January, 2013. However, due to a shoulder issue he would not pitch at all in 2013. That summer, he underwent surgery due to rotator cuff and labrum issues. Karstens would never pitch in the Majors again, before officially announcing his retirement in 2015.

In retirement, Karstens has started to coach. He is currently the pitching coach at Berkeley Prep in Tampa Bay, Florida. According to his Twitter, he has also gone back to school and is a finance student at USF.