David Lennon: How Long Island's Anthony Kay revived his MLB career via a detour through Japan
Anthony Kay of the White Sox delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Royals at Rate Field on May 14, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Credit: Getty Images/Jayden Mack
Anthony Kay’s journey from watching childhood idol Andy Pettitte pitch at old Yankee Stadium to making his first career Bronx start Wednesday night for the White Sox followed a path that few could have predicted.
Remember, the former Ward Melville star was the first-round pick of the Mets way back in 2016 -- the second time he was drafted by the Flushing franchise -- then needed Tommy John surgery only four months into his pro career.
Three years later, Kay was traded to the Blue Jays in the package for another Long Island ace, Patchogue-Medford’s Marcus Stroman, then rode the waiver-wire merry-go-round between the Cubs -- Mets again -- and A’s. But it wasn’t until a recent 7,000-mile detour to Japan, where he played the past two seasons for Yokohama Bay Stars, that Kay was ready for the Bronx homecoming he had dreamed about as a Little Leaguer growing up in Stony Brook.
Because this is a much different Anthony Kay, at age 31, than the UConn lefty the Mets drafted a decade earlier -- and the one they waived after the 2023 season. That’s when Kay decided the best way to revive his major-league career, and put him firmly back on a starter’s track, was to sign with Yokohama.
It sounds counter-intuitive, traveling to a foreign country, living and working in unfamiliar surroundings, with the goal of feeling like yourself again. But for Kay, the right place at the right time turned out to be Japan.
“I regained a lot of my confidence over there,” Kay said Tuesday in the visitor’s clubhouse. “Just everything really, was totally different -- mentally and physically -- than when I was here prior.”
What spurred that transformation? Kay credited two MLB ex-pats with Yokohama, including current LI Duck Trevor Bauer, for showing him the ropes. Along the way, Kay also picked up a two-seam fastball, or sinker, that helped him get weaker contact and move away from the strikeout-obsessed mindset here in the U.S. Last season, Kay’s 1.74 ERA was a single-season record for the Bay Stars and his remarkable 57.8% ground-ball rate was tops in the NPB.
That didn’t happen overnight. Initially, Kay was struggling through shorter outings, and soon realized that wasn’t going to fly in a league where starters are expected to go seven to eight innings and throw 120 pitches. Bottom line, he needed another fastball shape, and settled on the two-seamer that re-invigorated his career.
“I feel like that was the one pitch I was missing,” Kay said. “Then one day I just got on the mound, gripped a two-seam and started throwing it. The metrics were really good on it.”
Aside from the new weapon, Kay also had the freedom to know he could stumble occasionally along the learning curve -- yet not be demoted to the minors like back in the States. Across the White Sox clubhouse, rotation-mate Erick Fedde also found success on a different continent, re-inventing himself for the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). He wasn’t surprised to see Kay excel along a similar route.
“You’ve got to go in there with an open mind,” Fedde said. “And you go there with a sense of a fresh start. I went over with two new pitches I could work on and that’s a tough thing to do in the big leagues.
“You feel the stability. You know you’re going to get the ball every fifth day and not have your job on the line every time you walk out there.”
Kay’s get-right stint in Japan couldn’t have worked out any better when the White Sox signed him to a two-year contract worth a guaranteed $12 million that includes a $10 million mutual option for 2028 (with a $2 million buyout). Armed with the new sinker, Kay is 6-1 with a 4.34 ERA that is bloated from a pair of bumpy outliers.
He was 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA in six May starts, and whiffed seven over five innings his last time out, an 8-2 victory over the Dodgers on June 12. Before Tuesday’s game, the surprising White Sox were 38-32 and tied with the Guardians atop the AL Central -- not the usual real estate for a franchise that was coming off two last-place finishes and broke the ’62 Mets’ record for futility with 121 losses in 2024.
Kay’s arrival has been a big part of that South Side resurgence. He also passes as an elder enforcer on a roster with an average age of 27.2 years, the fourth-youngest in the majors. During an April 9 win over the Royals -- Chicago’s first at Kauffman Stadium since 2023 -- Jac Caglianone stared down Kay after getting drilled by his 100th pitch (Kay leads the majors with 12 hit batters). Afterward, he mentioned the Royals’ chirping and said the White Sox “aren’t going to take that anymore.” Made sense coming from Kay. He’s been down for a while himself.
“I think he is one of the guys on our pitching staff that is setting the tone for going out there and being fearless,” White Sox second-year manager Will Venable said. “Going out there and attacking in any way possible. It may not always be pretty, it may not always be what they set out to do, but they’re going out and getting it done.”
When Kay climbs the Yankee Stadium mound Wednesday night, he’ll have roughly 20 friends and family in the stands, including his mother, Debbie, who hasn’t seen him pitch in person since he was with the Cubs in 2023.
For Kay, it’s been a long, winding road back to the Bronx. Making this visit maybe the most special of all.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
