White Sox add LHP Anthony Kay with $12 million, 2-year contract, AP source says

Anthony Kay, a Ward Melville High School graduate, is returning to the major leagues, agreeing to a two-year, $12 million contract with the Chicago White Sox.

The deal for the lefthander includes a mutual option for 2028, according to a person who confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press on Wednesday, pending a physical.

Kay, 30, pitched in Japan for the past two years. He last appeared in a big-league game on Oct. 1, 2023, with the Mets.

The White Sox finished last in the AL Central this year with a 60-102 record, but that was a 19-game improvement from the previous season. They are hoping to take another step forward in 2026 behind a promising group of young players that includes Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth.

Kay joins a bullpen that had a 4.16 ERA and a major league-high 48 losses this year.

Kay was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2016 amateur draft out of the University of Connecticut. He is 4-2 with a 5.59 ERA in 44 major-league games, also playing for Toronto and the Chicago Cubs.

FanSided.com first reported Kay's contract with the White Sox. — AP