"He has seen better results in Japan in each of the past two years. In 2024, Kay posted a 3.42 ERA in 136 2/3 innings for the Bay Stars while striking out 20.2% of hitters and walking 9.0%. His 0.40 home runs allowed per nine innings (HR/9) was especially impressive. Only six Central League pitchers (min. 100 IP) gave up home runs at a lower rate."
"With that said, it's worth keeping in mind the lower run-scoring environment in Japan; the league average ERA in the Central League in 2024 was 2.88, well below Kay's 3.42 mark. However, in 2025, his numbers spoke for themselves. He deployed a deep and diverse arsenal to post a 1.74 ERA in 155 innings, cutting his walk rate to 6.8%. The southpaw led all NPB starting pitchers with a 21.9% strikeout rate, while his ERA ranked second, and his 0.46 HR/9 was tied for fourth."
Anthony Kay, 30, spent the past two seasons pitching for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan and is expected to return to the United States in 2026. Kay was a 2016 first-round Mets pick and debuted in MLB in 2019 after a trade to Toronto. He posted a 5.59 ERA in 85 1/3 big-league innings from 2019–23 with a 22.4% strikeout rate and 12.0% walk rate. In NPB, Kay posted a 3.42 ERA in 136 2/3 innings in 2024 and a 1.74 ERA in 155 innings in 2025, lowering his walk rate and increasing strikeouts while helping the BayStars win the Japan Series.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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