On Monday, the Reds declared that Tejay Antone, a right-handed reliever, has been put on the 15-day injured list due to injury. To fill his spot on the roster, right-hander Carson Spiers has been brought up from Triple-A. Initially diagnosed as “elbow inflammation,” manager David Bell has disclosed that Antone actually suffered a complete tear of a tendon from the bone and a partial ligament tear in his right elbow, as reported by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Surgery is scheduled for Friday, marking a significant setback for Antone, who had previously undergone Tommy John surgery in 2017 and again in 2021.
The upcoming surgery will inevitably bring an end to Antone’s season. Despite the recurrent elbow issues in his career, Antone’s determination is evident as he plans to resume pitching following an extensive rehabilitation process, as mentioned by Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
One can’t help but empathize with Antone, who quietly established himself as one of baseball’s top relievers between 2020 and 2021 before encountering these recent arm problems. Over those two seasons, he pitched 69 innings, maintaining an impressive 2.48 ERA with a notable 32.3% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. Antone consistently threw his fastball at an average speed of 97 mph and generated swinging strikes at a robust 13% rate. Additionally, his ground-ball rate of 48% surpassed the league average. Although his peak performance was brief, it’s evident why the Reds viewed Antone as a significant asset to their bullpen based on his initial 36 outings in the majors.