New Lefty Joins Cubs Bullpen
The Chicago Cubs made a few roster moves prior to their series opener against the NL Central-leading Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. First, left-hander Brandon Hughes was placed on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation and Jeremiah Estrada was optioned back to Triple-A after his struggles during the past couple of weeks.
Those moves paved the way for a new lefty to join the Cub bullpen, as Anthony Kay was called up from the minors. Kay, who was acquired in the offseason off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays, was added to the Cubs’ 40-man roster and later made his Cubs debut, pitching the ninth inning to finish off the team’s 11-3 win over the Pirates.
The 28-year-old lefty made 23 appearances with the Iowa Cubs this season, posting a 4.50 ERA in 28 innings. Not exactly the most eye-popping numbers, but since the end of April, Kay has posted a solid 3.57 ERA in his last 17.2 innings with the Iowa Cubs. During that six-week stretch that covered 14 appearances, Kay did not allow a single home run. Overall, Kay was averaging 10+ strikeouts per nine innings in Triple-A this season.
In his debut Tuesday night, Kay featured a 94mph fastball paired with an 89mph slider.
Anthony Kay Career Summary
Kay, has pitched in parts of four seasons with the Blue Jays, getting his first shot in the big leagues back in 2019. Overall, the left-handed pitcher has appeared in 28 games at the major league level, making seven starts for Toronto. Kay has not been able to gain much traction in the show, posting a 5.48 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 70.2 innings. In 2022, Kay only made one relief outing for the Blue Jays, allowing one run in two innings, against the New York Yankees early in April.
The lefty is a former first-round pick of the New York Mets, taken with the 31st overall (compensatory pick) in 2016. Kay did not pitch in the minors that year and in October 2016, he underwent Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss the entire 2017 minor league season. Kay finally pitched in the Mets organization in 2018, when he recorded a 4.26 ERA in 122.2 innings, making 23 starts in A-Ball.
In 2019, Kay had a breakout season, getting off to a strong start at Double-A. He had a 1.49 ERA in 12 starts before getting promoted up to Triple-A. Kay was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game in mid-July and then a couple weeks later he was traded from the Mets along with Simeon Woods Richardson to the Blue Jays for starting pitcher Marcus Stroman. Kay finished the 2019 season making seven more starts at Triple-A in the Blue Jays system, posting a 2.50 ERA in 36 innings. Kay made his MLB debut on Sept. 7, 2019, starting against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing two runs in 5.2 innings. He made a second start against the Yankees and had one final appearance out of the bullpen against the Baltimore Orioles.
In 2020, Kay had 13 relief outings, but struggled with a 5.14 ERA in 21 innings. He made five starts and six relief appearances for the Blue Jays in 2021, but once again had below average results with a 5.61 ERA in 33.2 innings. During the 2022 season, Kay tossed 21.1 innings in the minors, missing most of the year because of an injury.