Tejay Antone: Everything you need to know

Antone allowed one run on one hit over one inning, recording the save in Friday's 7-6 win over the Guardians. It was unlikely save opportunity for Antone and the Reds, who upped a lead to 6-1 in the eighth inning before the bullpen fell apart. Graham Ashcraft and Brock Burke combined to give up four runs on five walks and one hit in the bottom of the eighth to make this contest a closer-than-it-should-have-been affair. Cincinnati's closer has been unsettled since Emilio Pagan (hamstring) landed on the injured list, and Antone could be one of several bodies trotted out in the ninth inning.

The Reds selected Antone's contract from Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday. Antone's return to the big leagues is a great story of perseverance, as he's believed to be the third pitcher to make it back to the majors following three Tommy John surgeries, per Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati. The 32-year-old righty earned a promotion after collecting a 2.25 ERA and 15:6 K:BB over 12 innings with Louisville. When Antone gets into a game, it will be his first at the big-league level since April 7, 2024.

The Reds reassigned Antone to minor-league camp Sunday. Antone owns a 2.47 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over 76.2 innings in parts of four seasons in the majors with Cincinnati, but he spent the entire 2025 campaign in the minors after completing his recovery the third elbow surgery of his career. The 32-year-old lefty struggled during his stops between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville last season, and while his numbers in the Cactus League this spring (7.94 ERA, 1.94 WHIP and 7:4 K:BB in 5.2 innings) weren't anything special, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati notes that Antone's velocity was up from 2025. Antone will still need to translate those velocity gains into better results at Triple-A before potentially earning another look in the majors at some point later on in 2026.