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.