Reds make emotional move that keeps injured player’s comeback dream alive

The Cincinnati Reds didn’t have to do this. In a sport that chews through arms and moves on without a second thought, the Reds chose the harder, more human route: they left the light on for Tejay Antone.

Instead of letting a three-time Tommy John survivor drift into the pile of “what if” stories, the club found a way to keep him in the building, agreeing to a Minor League deal that gives Antone at least one more runway to chase the version of himself everyone remembers. The one who used to reduce big-league hitters to guesswork and bad swings.

This is a bet on a person. Antone is going on 32, with scars and setbacks that would’ve pushed most pitchers into retirement speeches or TV booths. Instead, he went public on Instagram to share that he’s staying with the Reds for 2026, turning what could’ve been a quiet paperwork transaction into something that clearly means a lot to him — and to a fanbase that hasn’t forgotten how electric he was when healthy.

Reds keep faith in Tejay Antone with emotional move after three elbow surgeries

The contract doesn’t guarantee anything other than opportunity. It keeps Antone in the organization where he first broke in and where his story has always felt unfinished. He hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since 2024, when a brief, four-outing return ended in heartbreak as his right elbow gave out again. That tear led to his third major elbow reconstruction, the kind of medical line a lot of pitchers don’t come back from once, let alone three times.

Antone’s history is long and brutal. His first Tommy John surgery came back in 2017, before most Reds fans even knew his name, when he was grinding through the minor league system and trying to hang onto a career. The second arrived in 2021, and that one stung in Cincinnati. Antone had turned himself into one of the nastiest arms in the bullpen, posting a microscopic 2.14 ERA over 23 appearances and looking like a long-term weapon. Two separate forearm issues that year turned out to be warning shots; the elbow finally gave way and his breakout season ended on an operating table.

The road back from that surgery never really smoothed out. Even when he did get back on a mound in 2025, it didn’t look like the fairy tale comeback. Antone pitched in 15 Minor League games across three different levels and was hit hard, finishing the season with an ERA north of 10 and ending the year at Triple-A Louisville.

The numbers were rough, but they come with context: this was a pitcher trying to relearn his body after a third major elbow reconstruction, working through command, feel, and confidence against hitters who know exactly what’s on his scouting report. The Reds could’ve looked at those stats and turned the page. Instead, they offered another chapter.

From Cincinnati’s perspective, this move costs little and could mean plenty. Minor League deals don’t clog the 40-man roster, and they let a club keep a close eye on a player’s health and progress. There’s no harm in seeing if Antone can stabilize, especially when history says that, when he’s right, he’s a legitimate difference-maker.

Across 45 career big-league games, he’s delivered a sub-3.00 ERA and missed bats at a rate that made him one of the more intriguing arms on the staff. You don’t find that upside on the scrap heap very often, and almost never with someone who already knows your system, your coaches, and your ballpark.

There’s also the emotional piece you can’t chart on a spreadsheet. This is a clubhouse that’s watched Antone disappear into rehab rooms and fight his way back more than once. For younger pitchers trying to survive their own bumps and bruises, having a veteran around who has seen the worst and is still chasing the mound anyway carries weight.

For fans, it’s a reminder that not every roster decision is strictly transactional. Sometimes a team looks at a player who’s given them everything he has — and a body that’s paid the price — and decides that if he’s still willing to fight, they’re willing to stand in his corner.

Will Tejay Antone ever again be the shutdown arm Reds fans fell in love with? There’s no way to know, and that’s what makes this move so compelling. The Reds didn’t lock in a guaranteed bullpen piece for 2026; they bought a chance at one of the best comeback stories in baseball. If it doesn’t work, it’ll quietly fade into the long list of Minor League deals that never hit. But if Antone’s elbow finally holds and the stuff comes back anywhere close to what it was, this will look like more than just a feel-good gesture. It’ll look like a franchise that bet on heart, and got rewarded on the field for believing in it.