Tejay Antone Robbed of Comeback Award Recognition After Remarkable Season With the Reds

This is ridiculous.

Sep 22, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tejay Antone (70) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tejay Antone came back from three Tommy John surgeries and put together a great season for the Cincinnati Reds.

Apparently, that wasn't enough to even make him a finalist for the Players Choice National League Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Sandy Alcantara, Martín Perez and Zack Wheeler were named the National League Comeback Player finalists for the Players Choice Awards. Antone was left off the list, and it is hard to understand how his comeback wasn't enough to earn one of those three spots.

You can debate who should win. Leaving Antone out of the conversation is ridiculous.

Antone Had the Results to Back Up His Story

Aug 16, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Tejay Antone (70) pitches against the Miami Marlins in the seventh inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Antone finished the season with a 3.11 ERA in 58 appearances, striking out 57 batters in 55 innings. Those are strong numbers for any reliever, especially someone coming back from everything he has been through.

Simply getting back to a major league mound after three Tommy John surgeries would have been an accomplishment worth celebrating. Antone went well beyond that, becoming one of Cincinnati's most reliable bullpen arms.

This wasn't a brief return with a handful of appearances. He pitched in 58 games and proved he could still be an above-average big-league reliever.

Antone Deserved a Spot Among the Finalists

Jul 1, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tejay Antone (70) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Alcantara, Perez and Wheeler have their own comeback stories, and making the case for Antone doesn't require dismissing what any of them overcame.

But it is fair to question how there wasn't room for him.

Jonny Venters won MLB’s NL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2018 after returning from three Tommy John surgeries with a 3.67 ERA in 50 appearances, which makes it even harder to understand how Antone’s 3.11 ERA in 58 games wasn’t enough to earn him a finalist spot for the separate Players Choice award.

Antone had both the comeback story and the numbers to make a strong case for winning this award. At the very least, he deserved to be a finalist.

Leaving him off the list doesn't change what he accomplished for the Reds this season. It does make you wonder what more he could have possibly done to earn that recognition.

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