Former Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Kay is flourishing in Japan with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Evan Stack | Last updated May 14, 2025 9:00 AM ET

It would require quite the research to do a “where are they now?” project with the seemingly revolving door that was the 2019 Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff. However, that’s not to say that any of those guys aren’t finding success elsewhere.

Anthony Kay, who was acquired by the Blue Jays from the Mets in the Marcus Stroman trade in 2019, has spent the previous year and some change with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars in Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest level in Japan. After a solid 2024 campaign with the BayStars, he has gotten off to a fabulous start this season.

Kay has made six starts to this point, posting a 3-1 record with a 0.86 ERA, 0.929 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9. His ERA ranks second in the Japan Central League, trailing only Iori Yamasaki of the Yomiuri Giants. Most recently, Kay pitched seven innings of shutout baseball yesterday against the Hanshin Tigers, allowing three hits, five walks, and three strikeouts. Unfortunately, the game ended in a 1-1 tie, but it kept the Baystars at 16-16, just three games back of first place in the Japan Central League.

Kay has pitched at least seven innings four times, and he’s posted at least eight strikeouts twice, a mark that he reached only twice in his 44 career major league appearances. Jeremy Beasley and Foster Griffin, a pair of former Jays, also pitch in the Central League for Hanshin and Yomiuri, respectively.

Anthony Kay averaged 96 mph on his fastball tonight and lowered his ERA to 0.86

7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 102 P, 10 Whiffs

pic.twitter.com/xhS69ioxoG

— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) May 13, 2025

Kay was drafted by the Mets in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of the University of Connecticut. In 2019, a 7-3 record, 1.49 ERA, and 0.92 WHIP across 12 starts in double-A earned him a promotion to triple-A midway through the year. He was traded to the Blue Jays alongside then-pitching prospect Simeon Woods-Richardson just hours before the trade deadline in late July, and would debut with Toronto a little over a month later.

Kay would spend the rest of the 2019 season and the 2020 season with the Blue Jays, with the team moving him from a starter to a reliever. He bounced between triple-A and the majors for the next couple of seasons while working between the rotation and the bullpen, but was ultimately DFA’d in December of 2022. Before pitching in Japan, he had a pair of stints with the Cubs and Mets in 2023.

There have been numerous success stories of pitchers finding success away from the MLB before making their way back. More recently, current Cardinals pitcher Erick Fedde held a 2.00 ERA with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2023 before signing with the Chicago White Sox just one year later. Perhaps Kay can be the next to earn another chance with an MLB club. In the meantime, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars may be gathering some fanfare from the Blue Jays fanbase.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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