Anthony Tyler Payne (born October 25, 1992) 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

who is a free agent. 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

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 ...

Career

Chicago Cubs

Payne graduated from Hurricane High School in

Hurricane, West Virginia Hurricane ( ) is a city in Putnam County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 6,977 at the 2020 census. Located roughly equidistant from Charleston and Huntington, it is part of the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area. Histor ...

, and attended

West Virginia State University West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Color ...

, where he 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, ...

for the

West Virginia State Yellow Jackets The West Virginia State Yellow Jackets (also WVSU) are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia State University, located in Institute, West Virginia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Yellow Jackets compete as members of the ...

. The Cubs selected Payne in the 30th round, with the 893rd overall selection, of 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 ...

. Payne 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 ...

. Payne spent the majority of the 2021 season with the Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

, also appearing in 1 game for the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

, hitting a cumulative .231/.291/.363 with 4 home runs and 30 RBI in 60 games. On October 3, 2021, Payne was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his major league debut that day as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

. He 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 ...

by the team on October 18. On November 16, Payne re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league contract for the 2022 season. In 2022, Payne played in 48 games for Triple–A Iowa, hitting .298/.335/.397 with one home run and 15 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 10, 2022.

Los Angeles Angels

On May 25, 2023, Payne signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

organization. In 44 appearances for the Double–A

Rocket City Trash Pandas The Rocket City Trash Pandas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Madison, Alabama, and play their home games at Toyota Field. History In November 20 ...

, he batted .313/.369/.472 with four home runs and 26 RBI. On October 13, 2023, Payne re–signed with the Angels organization on a new minor league contract. He returned to Rocket City in 2024, playing in 73 games and batting .233/.280/.319 with four home runs, 26 RBI, and three stolen bases. Payne elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2024.

References

External links

West Virginia State Yellow Jackets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Tyler 1997 births Living people Arizona League Cubs players Baseball players from West Virginia Chicago Cubs players Eugene Emeralds players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball catchers Myrtle Beach Pelicans players People from Hurricane, West Virginia Rocket City Trash Pandas players South Bend Cubs players Tennessee Smokies players West Virginia State Yellow Jackets baseball players