Goldeyes re-sign Antone

The Winnipeg Goldeyes have re-signed right-handed pitcher Nate Antone. Photo: Sean Rice, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

February 9, 2021

By Steve Schuster

Winnipeg Goldeyes

WINNIPEG, MB – The Winnipeg Goldeyes re-signed right-handed pitcher Nate Antone on Tuesday.

Antone was 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA for the Goldeyes in 22 relief appearances last season. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native struck out 29 and held opponents to a .187 batting average over 25 1/3 innings. Antone did not allow a run in 16 of his 22 outings, and allowed more than one run on just two occasions. During consecutive appearances at St. Paul on September 5 and 6, Antone’s fastball averaged a Trackman-confirmed 95 mph with 99 percent spin efficiency.

“I’m really impressed with Nate and what he was able to accomplish last year,” said Goldeyes’ manager Rick Forney. “He worked very hard last year to get himself back in tremendous shape. He was always 94 to 97 miles per hour, showed flashes of a good developing slider, and he has a nice little change-up that he can offer to left-handers. He was fantastic for us last year and still has rookie classification, so he’s obviously a very valuable piece to our bullpen and our entire roster makeup.”

The 29-year-old Antone enters his fifth season of professional baseball, and is 2-2 lifetime with one save and a 3.00 ERA in 75 career appearances, 73 of them in relief. Antone has struck out 111 batters in 108 career innings, while allowing just five home runs.

Antone was a two-way player as an infielder and pitcher at both Potomac State College (Keyser, West Virginia) and West Virginia University (Morgantown, West Virginia). During his freshman season at Potomac State in 2011, Antone batted .449 and set a Catamounts single-season record hitting 27 doubles.

Antone started his professional career in 2017 with the Gary SouthShore RailCats before finishing that season with the Frontier League’s Joliet Slammers. The following year, Antone played an integral role in helping Joliet win the Frontier League championship. With the Slammers facing elimination in Game 4 of the divisional playoffs, Antone was called on to make his first career professional start. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-hander pitched 7 1/3 innings without allowing a base hit, and the Slammers eventually scored the decisive runs in the ninth. In the winner take-all Game 5 of the Frontier League Championship Series, Antone again made the start, and exited with the lead after 3 2/3 innings before Joliet held on for a 4-2 victory to claim the league title.

The Goldeyes now have 12 players under contract for the 2021 season. American Association clubs may carry up to 28 players during spring training, which is scheduled to begin in May.

2021 Winnipeg Goldeyes Signings

RHP Nate Antone

RHP Ryan Dull

OF Jay Gonzalez

C Lucas Herbert

OF Logan Hill

OF Tyler Hill

LHP Mitchell Lambson

RHP Josh Lucas

1B Kyle Martin

OF Max Murphy

RHP Eduard Reyes

OF Liam Scafariello

The Winnipeg Goldeyes open the 2021 season on May 18 on the road against the Sioux Falls Canaries. The Goldeyes’ 2021 home opener is Friday, May 21 against the Chicago Dogs at Shaw Park.