Reds' Tejay Antone 'excited to be back,' ready to make MLB history

TL;DR

Tejay Antone is back with the Cincinnati Reds after recovering from a third Tommy John surgery. He aims to make MLB history as only the third pitcher to return after such an extensive injury.

Key points

Tejay Antone returns to the Cincinnati Reds after injury.
He has undergone three Tommy John surgeries.
Antone is only the third pitcher in MLB history to make such a return.
His comeback is seen as uplifting for the team.
He last played on April 7, 2024.

Tejay AntoneCincinnati Reds

CHICAGO – A tough loss made tougher by the injury loss of his closer turned into a late night at the ballpark for Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona and other team officials working through roster moves.

And then the next day Francona got to the park and was able to greet reliever Tejay Antone upon his arrival.

“He walked in, and I said, ‘On the heels of a sh—-y night, seeing you walk through the door was kind of uplifting,’ “ Francona said. “It’s good for him. I hope it’s really good for us. But that’s a pretty cool story.”

The last regular-season day Antone spent in a big-league uniform was the day he walked off the mound with a catastrophic elbow injury for the third time in his baseball career, April 7, 2024, after just one pitch.

Tejay Antone, shown during spring training, is only the third pitcher in big-league history to return to the majors after a third Tommy John surgery. “It’s awesome, man. It’s really cool,” he said.

“It’s awesome, man. It’s really cool,” he said of the emotions of fighting all the way back again to become just the third pitcher in big-league history to return to the majors after a third Tommy John surgery — joining Jonny Venters and Jason Isringhausen.