Mets claim Stony Brook native Anthony Kay off waivers
New York Mets pitcher Anthony Kay during a spring training game against Atlanta on Feb. 23, 2019, in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Suffering from a severe shortage of Long Islanders, the Mets claimed lefthander Anthony Kay off waivers from the Cubs on Thursday.
Kay, a Stony Brook native and Ward Melville High School product, was assigned to Triple-A Syracuse.
This is the Mets’ third engagement with Kay, whom they drafted in the 29th round in 2013. When he went to UConn instead, they wound up picking him again in 2016, this time in the first round. He was among their better pitching prospects when they traded him in July 2019 to the Blue Jays in the deal that brought Marcus Stroman, former Patchogue-Medford star, to New York.
Kay, 28, has a 5.60 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over parts of five seasons with the Blue Jays and Cubs.
Chicago designated Kay for assignment on Monday to make room for outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, another former Mets prospect. They sent him to the Cubs in the July 2021 Javier Baez trade.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
