A rough night for the Reds got considerably worse when closer Emilio Pagán was carted off the field, grabbing at his right hamstring. Hours later the team put him on the injured list, and the timing couldn’t have been more brutal — the bullpen had already coughed up a lead against the Cubs in extra innings earlier in the evening. In the same breath, Cincinnati added a familiar name to the 26-man roster, selecting the contract of right-hander Tejay Antone, whose career was hanging by a thread after three elbow surgeries. One devastating injury and one deeply unlikely return reshaped the relief corps in a single transaction flurry.
The loss of Pagán stings for obvious reasons. He’d grabbed hold of the ninth inning with a steady hand, and watching him go down on the warning track in obvious pain immediately emptied some air out of the ballpark. The Reds haven’t disclosed a recovery timeline, but even a moderate hamstring strain can cost a reliever weeks. With the club already battling in a tight division, any extended absence changes the leverage map overnight. Lucas Sims and Alexis Díaz will likely shoulder more late-inning weight, but the bullpen loses a proven arm who had been locked into the highest-leverage moments.
That loss came with a fresh dose of heartbreak after the 10-inning defeat to Chicago. The Cubs scratched across the deciding run and the Reds were left to pick up the pieces without their closer. It’s the kind of cascade that tests a front office: do you patch from within or start dialing for outside help in early May? For now, the answer might already be in the building.
Tejay Antone has been through enough for three careers. A torn UCL, a flexor mass repair, a second Tommy John surgery, then a third major elbow surgery — each comeback attempt could have been his last. He’s said as much, admitting this spring that he knew he was down to his final shot. “This was my last chance,” the sentiment went, and he didn’t throw it away. The 31-year-old grinded through a rehab that had more stops than a minor-league bus trip, and now he’s back on a big-league mound, ready to make MLB history for someone with this many elbow reconstructions. The Reds haven’t mapped out a role for him yet, but his mere presence on the roster is a testament to his stubborn resilience.
What makes Antone’s return particularly interesting is the stuff he carried before the injuries. His sinker-slider combination once made him a multi-inning weapon, and if the velocity and bite are still there, he could work his way into meaningful innings faster than expected. The club won’t want to overtax him early, and the leap from Triple-A rehab to the ninth inning isn’t automatic. Still, Pagán’s absence cracks open a door that might have stayed closed otherwise. A few clean appearances, and suddenly the conversation shifts from who’s missing to who’s arriving.
For now, the Reds are left balancing a fresh wound and a feel-good story. Pagán’s hamstring will be monitored day by day, but until he’s back, every tight lead will feel a little more fragile. Antone’s comeback is the kind of narrative that can lift a clubhouse, if his arm holds up. That’s the thing about pitching: the plan you draw up in April never survives May unchanged — sometimes it limps off on a cart, and sometimes it walks back in against all odds.