Tejay Anthony Antone (born December 5, 1993) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

organization. He made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) debut in 2020 for the Reds.

Amateur career

Antone attended

Mansfield Legacy High School Mansfield Legacy High School is a public secondary school located in Mansfield, Texas, United States. The school is a part of the Mansfield Independent School District and serves sections of the cities of Mansfield and Arlington as well as unin ...

Mansfield, Texas Mansfield is a suburban city in the U.S. state of Texas, and is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The city is located mostly in Tarrant County, with small parts in Ellis and Johnson counties. Its location is approximately 30 miles from Dalla ...

. Antone was drafted by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

in the 22nd round of the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto Rico Baseball Ac ...

, but did not sign and attended

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

. He appeared in 6 games for the

TCU Horned Frogs The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University. The 18 varsity teams participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I and in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football, competi ...

in 2013. Antone transferred to

Weatherford College Weatherford College (WC; officially Weatherford College of the Parker County Junior College District) is a public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general publi ...

for the 2014 season, going 7–6 with a 2.88 ERA over innings. Antone was drafted by the

in the 5th round, with the 155th overall selection, of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

Professional career

Antone split the 2014 season between the

Arizona League Reds The Arizona Complex League Reds are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is composed ...

and the

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Deh ...

, going a combined 2–3 with a 5.76 ERA over innings. He spent the 2015 season with the

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark. In 2011, they broke the record for most ...

, going 6–10 with a 2.91 ERA over 158 innings. He split the 2016 season between the

Daytona Tortugas The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Minor League Baseball#Single-A, Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie R ...

and the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

, going a combined 14–7 with a 3.45 ERA over innings. He missed the 2017 season after undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

. He spent the 2018 season with Daytona, going 14–6 with a 3.51 ERA over innings. Antone split the 2019 season between the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

and Louisville, going a combined 11–12 with a 4.00 ERA over innings. Antone was added to the Reds 40–man roster after the 2019 season. He made his major league debut on July 27, 2020, giving up one run in innings of work against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. In 2020, Antone went 0–3 with a 2.80 ERA in 13 appearances (four starts), spanning . In 2021, Antone spent most of the season on the IL with a forearm injury, making 23 appearances with a 2.14 ERA spanning . In August, he announced on Twitter that he would undergo his second

. Antone missed the 2022 season recovering from the injury. On February 7, 2023, Antone received a

platelet-rich plasma Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), also known as autologous conditioned plasma, is a concentrate of plasma protein derived from whole blood, centrifuged to remove red blood cells but retaining platelets. Though promoted for treating various medical con ...

injection to treat a flexor strain in his forearm, causing him to miss the beginning of the 2023 season. On September 1, he was activated from the injured list. He made 5 appearances down the stretch, logging a 1.59 ERA with 7 strikeouts across innings pitched. Antone began the 2024 season pitching out of Cincinnati's bullpen, recording a 4.50 ERA with two strikeouts across two appearances. On April 8, 2024, it was announced that Antone would undergo surgery after a he tore a tendon completely off the bone and suffered a partial ligament tear in his right elbow. On November 1, Antone was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Louisville.

Personal life

Antone and his wife, Kelsi, married in September 2019.

References

External links

Weatherford Coyotes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antone, Tejay 1993 births Arizona Complex League Reds players Arizona League Reds players Baseball players from Ellis County, Texas Billings Mustangs players Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Reds players Dayton Dragons players Daytona Tortugas players Living people Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Mansfield, Texas TCU Horned Frogs baseball players Weatherford Coyotes baseball players