Adam Kolarek

Position: RHP
Born: 1/14/1989
Height: 6'3''
Weight: 205
B/T: L/L
Acquired: Signed as a minor league free agent on March 27, 2017 (TAM). Originally drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft (NYM).

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
1-4 with a 1.36 ERA in 33 innings for the Triple-A Durham. Kolarek struck out 29 batters and walked 12, while holding opposing hitters to a .217 BAA.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Contract purchased from Durham on June 30. To make room for Kolarek on the 25-man roster, the Rays optioned RHP Austin Pruitt to Triple-A. The Rays also transferred CF Kevin Kiermaier to the 60-day DL to make room for Kolarek on the 40-man roster.
MLB Debut Date: 06/29/17

Debut Details
June 29, in a 4-0 Rays’ loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kolarek threw one and one-third scoreless innings in relief for the Rays. He allowed only one hit and he struck-out one. Kolarek threw 14 pitches, 12 for strikes. The left-hander came into the game in relief of Chase Whitley in the seventh inning with two-on and two-out. Kolarek threw a strike to John Jaso before catcher Jesus Sucre nabbed Andrew McCutchen attempting to steal third base to end the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Kolarek allowed a lead-off single to Jaso on a first pitch. He then got Gregory Polanco to ground into a force out, followed by a Jody Mercer strike out and a Chris Stewart force out to end the inning.

Player Notes
Originally an 11th-round pick of the Mets out of the University of Maryland in 2010, Kolarek pitched eight seasons in the minor leagues before getting his opportunity in the big leagues. The left-hander put up good numbers for the Mets for the first few seasons of his minor league career, but he ran into a roadblock in Double-A, spending most of the 2013-to-2015 seasons with Double-A Binghamton. After the 2015 season, Kolarek signed a minor league free agent deal with the Orioles, but he was selected in the minor league portion of the MLB Rule 5 Draft a few months later by the Rays. After spending the 2016 season in the Tampa chain, Kolarek signed a minor league deal with the Braves this past offseason. He was released by Atlanta on March 25 and quickly re-signed with Tampa.