Tyler Jay

Jay attended Lemont High School in Lemont, Illinois. He played both baseball and football at Lemont. Jay committed to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to play college baseball for the Fighting Illini. As a freshman, he appeared in 18 games, pitching to a 1–3 win–loss record with a 3.10 earned run average (ERA) and 20 strikeouts. As a sophomore in 2014, he took over as the closer and had 10 saves, a 1.94 ERA and 47 strikeouts.^[1][2] After the season, Jay played for the United States collegiate national team during the summer,^[3] and also played collegiate summer baseball for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.^[4][5] As a junior in 2015, he had a 1.08 ERA, 76 strikeouts and 14 saves.

Jay was considered one of the top prospects for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.^[6][7][8] The Minnesota Twins selected him with the sixth overall pick.^[9] He officially signed with the Twins on June 17 and was assigned to the Fort Myers Miracle where he posted a 3.93 ERA in 18+1⁄3 innings pitched. The Twins transitioned Jay into a starting pitcher with Fort Myers in 2016,^[10] where he posted a 5–5 record with a 2.84 ERA in 13 starts before being promoted to the Chattanooga Lookouts where he pitched to a 5.79 ERA in five games (two starts). He pitched only 11+2⁄3 innings in 2017 due to injury. Jay returned in 2018 to pitch for the Chattanooga Lookouts, compiling a 4–5 record with a 4.22 ERA in 38 games. Jay would begin the 2019 season with the Chattanooga Lookouts where he posted a 1–2 record with a 4.82 ERA in 17 appearances.^[11] In 2019, he began struggling to swallow as a result of eosinophilic esophagitis and started to lose weight, which correlated with a decline in his on-field performance.^[12]

On June 10, 2019, Jay was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for cash considerations.^[13] Jay would spend the rest of the 2019 season between the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the Arizona League Reds where he posted a 0–0 record with a 3.03 ERA in 18 appearances and a 9.00 ERA in two appearances respectively.^[14] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[15] On June 1, 2020, Jay was released by the Reds.^[16]

By 2022, Jay's health problems which had correlated with his decline in performance were attributed to a diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis. After spending 2021 out of baseball and focusing on his health, Jay asked Joliet Slammers manager Daniel Schlereth for a tryout^[12] and signed with the Frontier League team on June 7, 2022.^[17] In 22 appearances for Joliet, he registered a 1.64 ERA with 24 strikeouts and eight saves in 22 innings of work. In 2023, Jay made 20 appearances (7 starts) for the Slammers, logging a 4–3 record and 4.26 ERA with 64 strikeouts and seven saves in 57 innings pitched.^[18]

On August 24, 2023, Jay's contract was purchased by the New York Mets organization.^[19] He spent the remainder of the year with the Triple–A Syracuse Mets, posting a 6.00 ERA with 8 strikeouts across 6 appearances.^[20]

Jay began the 2024 season back in Syracuse, logging a scoreless appearance for the affiliate to start the year. On April 10, 2024, the Mets selected Jay's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time.^[21] He made his MLB debut the next day, pitching two innings against the Atlanta Braves.^[22][23] In his second appearance, he recorded two scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals. However, on April 17, Jay was designated for assignment after Michael Tonkin was claimed off waivers.^[24] He was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse two days later after going unclaimed off waivers.^[25] On June 30, the Mets purchased Jay's contract, adding him back to the major league roster.^[26] However, on July 2, he was optioned back to Triple–A having made just one appearance.^[27] Jay was designated for assignment a second time on July 17.^[28]

On July 21, 2024, Jay was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for T.J. Shook.^[29] He made 2 scoreless appearances for Milwaukee, logging 3 strikeouts across 3 innings of work. Jay was designated for assignment by the Brewers following the acquisition of Grant Anderson on January 2, 2025.^[30]

On January 9, 2025, Jay was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners.^[31] He was designated for assignment by the Mariners on January 21.^[32] Jay elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on January 28.^[33] On February 3, Jay re-signed with the Brewers organization on a minor league contract.^[34] He made 28 appearances for Triple-A Nashville, posting a 2-1 record and 3.33 ERA with 21 strikeouts and two saves over 27 innings of work. Jay was released by the Brewers organization on July 17.^[35]

• Career statistics from MLB · ESPN · Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac
• Illinois Fighting Illini bio