The Chicago White Sox added to their rotation early this offseason, coming to terms with former Blue Jays left-hander Anthony Kay on a two-year, $12 million contract last week.

 Kay, 31, has spent the last two seasons pitching in Japan for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and is coming off an impressive year, posting a 9–6 record and a 1.74 ERA. He ranked third on the team in ERA, logged 155 innings (second most behind Katsuki Azuma), and led the club with 130 strikeouts while also finishing with a 0.981 WHIP, 6.4 H/9, and a 2.4 BB/9.

Kay was originally a top prospect in the New York Mets organization, ranking as high as eighth on their prospect list in 2019. He was traded to the Blue Jays along with Simeon Woods-Richardson ahead of the 2019 trade deadline in exchange for Marcus Stroman. The left-hander spent parts of four seasons with Toronto, going 4–2 with a 5.59 ERA across 44 appearances while struggling to find a role on the team, splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen while riding the options bus between Toronto and Buffalo.

He was designated for assignment during the 2022/2023 offseason and claimed by the Chicago Cubs. After posting a 6.35 ERA across 13 relief outings, he was waived again in September 2023 and was claimed by the Mets. Kay made three appearances that fall before being waived once more and claimed by the Athletics. He didn’t stick long in the organization, as he was outrighted to Triple-A and became a free agent that winter.

Kay’s pitching arsenal features a four-seam fastball that touches 95 mph, along with a slider, changeup, and sweeper. Since moving to Japan, he has added a two-seam fastball, which has contributed to his renewed success. The White Sox are taking a relatively low-risk gamble in seeing whether he can translate those improvements back to MLB. Kay has historically been a high-strikeout, high-walk pitcher, but he made notable strides with his command overseas. He also induced more ground balls, with his ground-ball rate climbing to 54% from his previous 45%.

Will Kay find sustained success in his return to North America? Time will tell, but his journey has already become a fascinating one.

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