Anthony Kay of the New York Mets in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on September 24, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
Left-handed pitcher Anthony Kay signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars for the 2024 Nippon Professional Baseball regular season, the organization announced on their X account on January 9.
Kay, 28, was born in Stony Brook, N.Y., and has played five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays from 2019-22, the Chicago Cubs in 2023 and the New York Mets in 2023.
Last season, the southpaw was back and forth between the Cubs and Triple-A Iowa prior to being claimed off waivers by the Mets on Sept. 14.
With the Cubs, Kay appeared in 13 games out of the bullpen, throwing 11.1 innings and posting a 6.35 ERA. Kay allowed 12 hits, eight earned runs, one home run, eight walks, eight strikeouts, and a 1.765 WHIP. With Triple-A Iowa, Kay appeared in 30 games and made one start, going 3-1 and posting a 4.10 ERA. He threw 37.1 innings, allowing 28 hits, 17 earned runs, two home runs, 22 walks, 50 strikeouts, and a 1.339 WHIP.
Kay played with the Mets and Triple-A Syracuse during the last month of the 2023 regular season. During his time with the Mets, Kay appeared in three games out of the bullpen, throwing 3.1 innings with a 5.40 ERA, allowing one hit, two earned runs, one home run, one walk and three strikeouts. With Triple-A Syracuse, Kay appeared in two games and did not allow an earned run, throwing 3.1 innings and allowing one hit, one walk and eight strikeouts.
Kay was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics on Oct. 24, 2023, prior to his electing free agency on November 6.
In 2022, Kay played with the Blue Jays along with three levels at the rookie complex level in Dunedin, Fla., Low-A Dunedin, and Triple-A Buffalo. In all three levels, Kay posted 1-3 record, throwing 21.1 innings with a 5.48 ERA in 13 appearances and four starts allowing 23 hits, 13 earned runs, four home runs, 12 walks, 23 strikeouts, and a 1.641 WHIP.
With Toronto, Kay pitched in one game of the 2022 season on April 12 against the New York Yankees he threw 2 innings out of the bullpen posting a 4.50 ERA allowing two hits, one earned run, one walk, and three strikeouts.
During his five seasons in MLB, Kay has a career record of 4-2 with a 5.59 ERA in 44 appearances and made seven starts, throwing 85.1 innings and allowing 90 hits, 53 earned runs, 12 home runs, 47 walks, 88 strikeouts, and a 1.605 WHIP.
All 12 NPB teams will report to training camp in mid-January for the 2024 season. The Yokohama BayStars will play the Hiroshima Toyo Carp on the road on March 29 in Hiroshima, Japan at the Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium.
