Anthony Kay lost his confidence, but the new Chicago White Sox pitcher found his groove again in Japan

ORLANDO, Fla. — Anthony Kay had lost a little bit of his confidence.

“Being up and down (between the majors and minors) and DFA’d and all that,” the left-handed pitcher described during a video conference call on Tuesday, which took place during MLB’s annual winter meetings.

After spending parts of five seasons in the major leagues, Kay got back into a groove again during two years in Japan.

“I think going over to Japan and being consistently a starter for a couple of years kind of helped me regain that confidence as a pitcher and kind of helped me develop and be consistent and find myself,” Kay said.

He’ll look to build on that revival after finalizing a two-year, $12 million deal with the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

“I had a Zoom call with a bunch of the pitching guys and coordinators and with (Sox manager) Will Venable and it seemed like a really good fit for me to come back to America and kind of get back into the big leagues,” Kay said. “And I think we had a pretty similar vision of what I wanted to do and I think it was a really good fit.

“Getting to start again and finally get to be consistent in the big leagues was very attractive for me to come back and be a key fit for the White Sox and helping them win some games.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Kay will receive $5 million in 2026 and 2027, with a $10 million mutual option for 2028 or a $2 million buyout.

“This past season, he was nothing short of dominant,” Sox general manager Chris Getz said Tuesday. “He had a very strong market and had options, and quite honestly, he really wanted to come here and pitch in Chicago for the White Sox and be around the group we have here.

“We assured him that he’s going to get a chance to be a starting pitcher here. We view him as a starting pitcher. You’re talking about a lefty who can run it up there in the high 90s and he’s got multiple weapons. Those types of arms you can use in a lot of different roles. But he wants to establish himself at the major-league level as a starter and we’re able to provide that opportunity.”

Kay, 30, went 15-15 with a 2.53 ERA, two complete games, one shutout and 249 strikeouts in 48 games over two seasons with the Yokohama BayStars in the Nippon Professional Baseball Central League.

He was 9-6 with a 1.74 ERA, one shutout, 130 strikeouts, a .201 opponents average and 0.98 WHIP in 24 starts in 2025. Kay led the Central League in groundball percentage (67.8), strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (7.55) and opponents average. He ranked second in ERA and fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.17) and home runs per 9 innings pitched (0.46).

“Adding the sinker was a huge part to my success last year,” Kay said. “And I think just being more aggressive and attacking the zone. A couple of years ago, I had a little bit of a control problem, nitpicking around the zone.

“Two years over there kind of helped me find the zone a little bit, be aggressive, limit the walks a little bit and be more successful.”

Kay’s previous major-league experience came with the Toronto Blue Jays (2019-22), Chicago Cubs (2023) and New York Mets (2023). He is 4-2 with a 5.59 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 44 career games (seven starts).

Kay had a combined 6.14 ERA in 16 relief appearances between the Cubs and Mets in 2023, his most recent time in the big leagues.

He went to Japan with the goal of returning to America after two years.

“You’ve got to go over there with an open mind,” he said. “I didn’t really expect too much, just wanted to go over there and experience the other culture, the way they play the game. Once I was over there and accepted all of that, I was able to have success.”

The work caught the attention of the Sox. And Kay said the work the Sox accomplished with a pair of their former pitchers stood out.

“The biggest thing was the success they had with Erick Fedde coming back over from Korea (in 2024). It was a pretty similar situation to be able to come back over and thrive in the role of being back in the big leagues,” Kay said.

“Another thing is the success they had with Garrett Crochet and having him go from a reliever back to starter, that kind of showed that they have a plan for guys like me and it really showed that the success they have had was a huge part of it.”

Kay is “grateful” for the opportunity with the Sox.

“Going to try and do everything I can to be successful and stay here,” Kay said.

Anthony Kay lost his confidence, but the new Chicago White Sox pitcher found his groove again in Japan

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