Tejay Antone rocketed on to the scene with the Cincinnati Reds back in the shortened 2020 season, his repertoire pairing perfectly with the ‘Spincinnati’ revolution. Across 36 appearances in 2020-2021,
he fired 69.0 IP and allowed just 19 ER (2.48 ERA), putting up a ridiculous 87/29 K/BB and 0.96 WHIP while being a multi-inning weapon out of a potent Cincinnati bullpen.
That run of elite production was shortlived, of course. He torn the UCL in his right (throwing) arm for the second time in his career late in 2021 and missed the entirety of the 2022 season while rehabbing. The Reds were incredibly careful with bringing him back, and he didn’t even make it back to full-season minor league ball until August of 2023 with AAA Louisville. He then found his way back to the bigs for 5.2 IP in September of 2023 before finally entering the 2024 season in prime form once again.
At least, that was the hope. In just his fourth appearance of the 2024 season, though, he tore his UCL for a third time, and watching him exit that April 7th game against the New York Mets was one of the toughest things I’ve ever watched on a baseball diamond. He knew immediately what had happened and the rigor it would take to try to overcome it again, and the idea that his baseball career was over that moment had to have entered his mind.
To his credit, he hasn’t dwelled on that potentially being his final MLB pitch if it did ever enter his mind. He’s been rehabbing with aplomb ever since, hoping to be just the third big leaguer to ever return to the majors after a third Tommy John surgery. He eventually made his way back to a minor league mound again in August of this year with High-A Dayton, spending two weeks there before moving up to AA Chattanooga and, eventually, AAA Louisville to wrap the year. According to Doug Gray of Redleg Nation, Antone was sitting around 95 mph with his heater, though the results weren’t anywhere as good as he’d hoped – a .978 OPS allowed in 80 PA and 17 ER in just 15.0 total IP.
It’s administrative season for all MLB clubs in the wake of the end of the World Series, and news broke that Antone had elected free agency alongside some 19 other Cincinnati farmhands. That’s pretty commonplace this time of year – the Antone news is on Page 7 of the 11/6 transaction list because so many other clubs face this same issue – but it’s particularly nostalgic to see Antone potentially head for other pastures. The likes of Buck Farmer, Alex Young, Edwin Rios, and Eric Yang were among the other notable names to hit free agency from the Cincinnati farm in these moves.
There’s always the chance the Reds and Antone find their way to a reunion, but that’s something that’s going to have to happen amid a sea of new options for Captain Hook for the first time. So, if this is the last we see of Tejay with the Reds, it’s a particularly inconspicuous route given how high he was flying for them just a few years ago.
We here at Red Reporter wish him the absolute best wherever he lands, and I sure do hope he gets one more run back with the Reds organization somehow.
In other news, the Reds announced eight new nominees for election into their club Hall of Fame, and it’s a list that will make the elders of Red Reporter feel old as all hell. Brandon Phillips headlines the bunch and I see almost no way he’s not one of the two guys who gets elected this year, but the likes of Aaron Harang, Scott Rolen, Homer Bailey, Zack Cozart, Coco Cordero, Mike Leake, and Edinson V0lquez all join him in the mix as a who’s who of the early days of this particular weblog.
MIKE LEAKE!
Scott Rolen’s Reds!
Aron Harnann!
Old Hoss!
Edinson “Rookie of the Year” Volquez!
Speaking of which, I’ve often wondered of late if Rhett Lowder really is a Mike Leake type. If only they’d let him hit for us to truly find out.
