The White Sox opened their offseason by acting fast on a pitcher they had circled for a while. Reporting and comments from Robert Murray on The Baseball Insiders podcast conveyed that Chicago was among the first teams to reach out when Anthony Kay became available. The southpaw drew real interest early in free agency, but the Sox pressed hardest, offering a rotation spot and a contract that gave him reason to return from Japan despite having larger offers overseas.
This move follows a pattern the front office has used over the last two seasons. They have targeted former major league arms who rebuilt their value overseas and acted before the market rushed in. The White Sox haven’t announced the deal yet but the lefty will push the 40-man roster to 35 as it presently stands.
Left-hander Anthony Kay and the Chicago White Sox are in agreement on a two-year, $12 million contract, sources tell ESPN. @ByRobertMurray was on the agreement.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 3, 2025
The plan worked with Erick Fedde, who came back from the KBO and settled into a steady role before the Sox moved him in a deadline trade. Kay fits that same idea. He reshaped his repertoire in Japan and regained the rhythm of a full-time starter. Now he returns with a chance to show that the pitcher he became overseas can translate against major-league hitters.
The timing also reflects how the offseason usually ramps up for the Sox. It is unclear how active they plan to be this winter, but this move fills a clear need in a cost-effective way as the market starts to take shape. Kay becomes the first signing of the winter and an early sign that more additions could follow soon.
Contract Details
The White Sox have committed two years and $12 million to left-hander Anthony Kay, with a mutual option that could extend the deal into 2028. He will earn $5 million in both 2026 and 2027, and the mutual option is valued at $10 million with a $2 million buyout. The contract also includes up to $1.5 million in performance bonuses.
Represented by CAA, Kay turned down richer offers to remain in Japan, choosing instead to return to the majors on a deal that gives him a clear rotation opportunity and the club a movable mid-range salary if things go well.
Background
Kay was a standout at UConn and went 31st overall to the Mets in 2016. He reached the majors in 2019 after a trade to Toronto in the Marcus Stroman deal and later spent time with the Mets and Cubs.
His early progress stalled due to injuries and shifting roles that kept him from gaining traction as a starter. He dealt with Tommy John surgery, along with back and shoulder issues, and moved between starting and relief without finding a steady footing.
When the Cubs designated him for assignment to clear space for Pete Crow‑Armstrong, Kay carried a 5.59 ERA in 85⅓ innings with a solid strikeout rate but too many walks and home runs. His move overseas offered a clean chance to rebuild as a full-time starter.
Japan Performance
Signing with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars gave Kay the runway he had been missing. Across two seasons in NPB, he worked 291⅔ innings with a 2.53 ERA, roughly league-average strikeout and walk rates, and a ground-ball rate north of 50 percent. His 2024 season was more about durability than dominance as he logged 26 starts and nearly 150 innings with an ERA in the mid-3s, then ramped up another level in 2025.
Should also note, Anthony Kay breaking the team’s single-season ERA record is not just a product of the dead ball era (although it helped)
His 57 ERA- was also tied with 1979 Masaji Hiramatsu for second-lowest in Whales/BayStars history, behind only 1992 Koki Morita (56 ERA-) https://t.co/0stGRlZppG pic.twitter.com/hJ3nMYrQBq
— Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球 (@GaijinBaseball) December 3, 2025
Kay went 9-6 with a 1.74 ERA over 24 starts and 155 innings, set a single-season ERA record for the BayStars, and led the league in ground-ball rate. He followed a solid regular season in 2024 with a strong postseason run and entered 2025 looking like a different pitcher, one who could work deep into games while living at the knees instead of tying up hitters above the zone.
MLB Track Record
The version of Kay who left for Japan looked more like a depth arm than a future rotation piece. Between 2019 and 2023, he posted a 5.59 ERA in 44 big-league games, striking out only 16.7 percent of hitters in 2023 and allowing 1.23 home runs per nine.
Triple-A results were not much better, with an ERA over five across parts of four seasons. He also spent time in the bullpen for Toronto during a postseason push and never quite found a routine that suited him.
Scouting Notes
Kay used his time in NPB to rebuild both his arsenal and his approach. Robert Murray’s exclusive on Kay noted that he needed a reset and found one in Japan. He searched for answers during his first season and leaned on teammates who worked in the zone with slower stuff. Their advice pushed him toward a two‑seamer that fit the league’s style. Hitters in Japan used flat swings, which caused long at‑bats from fouling off pitches, so high fastballs lost their value. The two‑seamer gave him a way to finish counts and force contact on the ground.
He now works with a six-pitch mix built around three fastball shapes that match what the White Sox want in their pitchers. His four-seamer sits near 94 mph, and the two-seam/sinker fuels his ground ball profile while the cutter has gained a sharper edge. He also uses a sweeper/curveball and a changeup that serves as a nice change of pace pitch. This mix gives him answers against both sides of the plate and fits the pitch design focus the Sox apply across the staff.
A translated piece from Japan noted that coaches in Yokohama helped him smooth out his delivery so he drove straight toward the plate with better balance. They also spent time helping him manage the moments when his command slipped. Early on, he carried frustration into the next pitch, so the staff taught him simple resets that kept him calm. One routine involved biting down on his glove during tense moments to release frustration without losing focus. Another cue asked him to hide that emotion in the glove so he could move on. These habits helped him settle in and trust his stuff instead of fighting his mechanics.
He paired that mental work with a mechanical shift that removed extra movement from his delivery. He went from a motion that drifted off line to one that moved cleanly toward home, which matched his plan to attack the zone. That adjustment helped him stay balanced on every pitch and let him get more from his lower half. The refinements gave him a strong base on each pitch and supported the rise of his sinker and cutter. The end result was one of the best ground ball profiles in Japan, with a 55.8 percent rate in 2025.
Fit with the White Sox
From a front office view, Kay follows a model that already paid off once on the South Side. Erick Fedde came back from Korea on a two-year deal and gave the Sox steady innings for more than a season before they dealt him to St. Louis in a three-player trade that brought back Miguel Vargas and two infield prospects.
Kay is a younger, cheaper version of the Martín Pérez profile the Sox rode in 2025, and he immediately becomes one of the better-paid members of a rotation that still lacks proven track records.
He should slot into the back half of the staff behind Shane Smith and Davis Martin. Kay leans on a ground ball style that will challenge an infield group that struggled last year. He has also shown control of the running game as he allowed only one stolen base in his time in the majors. Run prevention is a priority for new pitching coach Zach Bove, who has stressed cleaner details on the mound and tighter execution in traffic.
If the improvements in Japan hold, he gives manager Will Venable a stabilizing left-handed presence who can work hopefully six innings at a time instead of soaking up bulk out of the bullpen.
Outlook for White Sox
There is real risk in any move built on overseas success, yet the shorter term and cheaper cost keep this one in a safe range for a club still shaping its next core.
If Kay carries over the form he showed in Japan, the Sox add either a steady mid‑rotation arm or a trade piece who can bring value at the deadline, much like Fedde. If his progress dips, the cost is light enough that it will not block other plans.
The signing shows a front office willing to search for upside in places where the price stays reasonable rather than leaning on more expensive stopgaps. For Kay, it is a chance to show that the growth he made overseas can stand up in the majors. For the Sox, it marks a small step toward a deeper and more flexible pitching group as the rebuild moves ahead.
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