Tyler Ryan Jay (born April 19, 1994) 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, ...

. He has previously played in

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) for 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 ...

. Jay played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and was drafted by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

in the first round of the

2015 MLB draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2024 with the Mets.

Career

Amateur career

Jay attended Lemont High School in

Lemont, Illinois Lemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The population was 17,629 as of the 2020 census. The village is situated on a hillside along the south banks ...

. He played both baseball and football at Lemont. Jay committed to the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

to play

for the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The university operates a number of athletic fac ...

. As a freshman, he appeared in 18 games, pitching to a 1–3

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 3.10

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 20

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. As a sophomore in 2014, he took over as the closer and had 10 saves, a 1.94 ERA and 47 strikeouts. After the season, Jay played for the United States collegiate national team during the summer, and also played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. As a junior in 2015, he had a 1.08 ERA, 76 strikeouts and 14 saves.

Minnesota Twins

Jay was considered one of the top prospects for the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. The

selected him with the sixth overall pick. He officially signed with the Twins on June 17 and was assigned to the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at ...

where he posted a 3.93 ERA in innings pitched. The Twins transitioned Jay into a starting pitcher with Fort Myers in 2016, where he posted a 5–5 record with a 2.84 ERA in 13 starts before being promoted to 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 ...

where he pitched to a 5.79 ERA in five games (two starts). He pitched only innings in 2017 due to injury. Jay returned in 2018 to pitch for the

, compiling a 4–5 record with a 4.22 ERA in 38 games. Jay would begin the 2019 season with the

where he posted a 1–2 record with a 4.82 ERA in 17 appearances. In 2019, he began struggling to swallow as a result of

eosinophilic esophagitis Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergic inflammatory condition of the esophagus that involves eosinophils, a type of white blood cell. In healthy individuals, the esophagus is typically devoid of eosinophils. In EoE, eosinophils migrate t ...

and started to lose weight, which correlated with a decline in his on-field performance.

Cincinnati Reds

On June 10, 2019, Jay was traded to 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 ...

in exchange for cash considerations. Jay would spend the rest of the 2019 season between the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

and 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 ...

where he posted a 0–0 record with a 3.03 ERA in 18 appearances and a 9.00 ERA in two appearances respectively. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On June 1, 2020, Jay was released by the Reds.

Joliet Slammers

By 2022, Jay's health problems which had correlated with his decline in performance were attributed to a diagnosis of

. After spending 2021 out of baseball and focusing on his health, Jay asked

Joliet Slammers The Joliet Slammers are a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois. The Slammers compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division. The team plays their home games at the Duly Health and Care Field, and is owne ...

manager Daniel Schlereth for a tryout and signed with the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

team on June 7, 2022. In 22 appearances for Joliet, he registered a 1.64 ERA with 24 strikeouts and eight saves in 22 innings of work. In 2023, Jay made 20 appearances (7 starts) for the Slammers, logging a 4–3 record and 4.26 ERA with 64 strikeouts and seven saves in 57 innings pitched.

New York Mets

On August 24, 2023, Jay's contract was purchased by the

organization. He spent the remainder of the year with the Triple–A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

, posting a 6.00 ERA with 8 strikeouts across 6 appearances. Jay began the 2024 season back in Syracuse, logging a scoreless appearance for the affiliate to start the year. On April 10, 2024, the Mets selected Jay's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the next day, pitching two innings against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. In his second appearance, he recorded two scoreless innings against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. However, on April 17, Jay was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

after Michael Tonkin was claimed off waivers. He was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse two days later after going unclaimed off waivers. On June 30, the Mets purchased Jay's contract, adding him back to the major league roster. However, on July 2, he was optioned back to Triple–A having made just one appearance. Jay was designated for assignment a second time on July 17.

Milwaukee Brewers

On July 21, 2024, Jay was traded to the

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

in exchange for T.J. Shook. He made 2 scoreless appearances for Milwaukee, logging 3 strikeouts across 3 innings of work. Jay was designated for assignment by the Brewers following the acquisition of Grant Anderson on January 2, 2025. On January 9, 2025, Jay was claimed off waivers by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

. He was designated for assignment by the Mariners on January 21. Jay elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment to the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

on January 28. On February 3, Jay re-signed with the Brewers organization on a minor league contract.

References

External links

Illinois Fighting Illini bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Tyler 1994 births Living people All-American college baseball players Arizona League Reds players Baseball players from Cook County, Illinois Chattanooga Lookouts players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Illinois Fighting Illini baseball players Joliet Slammers players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players New York Mets players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players People from Lemont, Illinois Surprise Saguaros players Syracuse Mets players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players