Emulating Patrick Mahomes, Nate Karns is ready to return to Royals’ rotation

One day this winter, Nate Karns went out to test his right arm. He had not stepped on a mound or thrown a baseball in months. His body was missing a small section of rib, removed during a surgery last summer.

He planned to complete a detailed winter throwing program before spring training, teaching his arm how to work once more. But on the first day of throwing, he picked up a strange object: A football.

“When you’re throwing a football, you really have to be mechanically sound to kind of get a spiral at distance,” Karns said. “And it really taught me how to use my lower body.”

Karns, 30, is hopeful that his arm problems and injury issues are behind him after missing most of last season due to thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition in which a nerve becomes compressed and causes pain and numbness in the arm. In his second season with the Royals, he is seeking to solidify a spot in the starting rotation and re-start a career that has been marked by promise and potential — but without the results to match.

He received a clean bill of health this winter and has begun camp with no restrictions on his throwing. He has an inside track to a rotation spot behind Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy and Jason Hammel. Of most importance, he has reported no symptoms or discomfort during initial bullpen sessions here.

“We had a plan,” Karns said of his rehab. “We were able to execute it all offseason with no setbacks or hiccups.”

In the first days, the plan included an unusual drill. Karns would play catch with a football, adding throws to the counter each time. The goal was to keep his arm action short and compact, the way quarterbacks must.

A native Texan, Karns grew up playing football along with all manner of sports. A graduate of Texas Tech, he is a believer in Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a fellow Red Raider. But at 6 feet 3 and 225 pounds, he spent most of his time on the defensive line. The act of throwing a spiral challenged him. The technique was also imperative.

At times in the past, Karns said, his arm action would get too long, dragging behind his lower body. It put pressure on a nerve in his arm. The surgery for thoracic outlet — which includes the removal of a rib near the shoulder — relieved the pressure and let his arm work again. If he could emulate Mahomes, he was doing something right.

“If I was able to stay short,” Karns said, “we could prevent that from being an issue in the recovery process.”

In time, Karns switched to throwing baseballs. He experienced few problems recovering from a condition that has afflicted many pitchers in recent years, including the Royals’ Luke Hochevar and Kyle Zimmer and the New York Mets’ Matt Harvey, among others. On a recent day here, he declared his spring schedule “normal as can be” and then enthusiastically invited two reporters to come watch a bullpen session for proof.

“If you guys want, come on down there,” Karns said, smiling.

For now, the Royals remain hopeful as well. They acquired Karns before last season in a trade that sent outfielder Jarrod Dyson, a pending free agent, to Seattle. They coveted Karns’ power arsenal and four years of club control. The early returns were promising.

In eight starts, Karns logged a 3.43 ERA and struck out 49 batters in 44 2/3 innings. He supplemented an effective fastball with a curveball he threw more than 36 percent of the time. The performance didn’t last. On May 19, he left a start in Minnesota after just five innings, reporting odd symptoms in his arm. They remained for weeks and were ultimately diagnosed as thoracic outlet.

“Nerves are really the hardest thing to deal with,” Karns said. “If you (tick) them off, it takes a while to kind of recover.”

For now, Royals manager Ned Yost has been hesitant to anoint his starting rotation. Duffy, Kennedy and Hammel appear to be locks, while Karns will battle with a group that includes Jakob Junis, Trevor Oaks and Jesse Hahn for the final two spots. Yet if Karns can remain healthy, he appears a safe bet to start.

In a career that has spanned five seasons, Karns has been traded three times. He has battled injury and logged more than 100 innings just once. He also has three years remaining before free agency. In some ways, then, his career is just beginning. It starts, he believes, with a healthy season on the mound.

“My impression coming in is that surgery worked,” Karns said. “There’s no pain. There’s no symptoms. So we’ll just treat it normal and learn to grow with age.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2018 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Emulating Patrick Mahomes, Nate Karns is ready to return to Royals’ rotation."