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Heralded as one of the better New York Mets prospects back in 2019, Anthony Kay and his 6.61 ERA in 7 starts for Syracuse was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman. Fans revolted. The idea of youth over experience always tends to appeal more to fans for whatever reason.
Kay never did much in the majors for the Blue Jays. He pitched a little for the Chicago Cubs as well before even logging a few innings with the New York Mets in 2023. Since then, he has been over in Japan trying to re-establish himself. After a strong 2024 campaign, he followed it up with a monstrous year in 2025 for the Yokohama Bay Stars.
Former top Mets prospect Anthony Kay found his sweet spot over in Japan
In 24 games and 155 innings (this already sounds good), Kay was 9-6 a 1.74 ERA. Holy cow. That’s impressive. A strike-thrower with 2.4 BB/9, he managed to do it with help from the defense around him. He fanned just 7.5 per 9.
Headed toward his 31st birthday next March, this turn in his career can do one of two things. He can either continue to become a star overseas or play his way back into a major league contract. Unless his final goal is to end up on a Netflix show about current or former athletes competing in a variety of physical challenges, the latter is more appealing.
A look at the league leaders, we see Kay had lots of company with many others who pitched to an ERA under 2.00. Look a little deeper. He was one of only two to do it with over 100 innings of work. Despite the K rate being lower than what we’d expect in MLB, the 130 strikeouts was fourth in the entire league.
A Mets reunion feels a little too romantic to occur. However, they didn’t shy away from overseas shopping this past winter when Brandon Waddell and Jared Young were each signed to major league contracts. Kay should get a closer look from a variety of ball clubs, though. The innings total itself makes him someone to watch closely as the free agency door officially opens.