Blue Jays Trade Former First Round Pick to St. Louis Cardinals

The Blue Jays have completed a trade earlier today, sending right-hander T.J. Zeuch to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash considerations.

On July 25, when the Blue Jays reinstated Alejandro Kirk from the 60-day injured list, Zeuch found himself being Designated For Assignment (DFA) and lost his spot on the 40-man roster.  As such, the Blue Jays were forced to move on from him and were able to recoup something in return, albeit cash considerations.

The former first-round pick will be turning 26-years old next week and was never able to kick down the door to earn a full-time spot on the Jays roster.  Known for his sinker, he induced a lot of ground balls through the minor leagues, however in five appearances and 15 innings this year with the big club he allowed six home runs and walked nine batters.

On Sunday morning, the Blue Jays traded former first-round pick T.J. Zeuch to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for cash considerations.

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The home runs were uncharacteristic of the right-handed pitcher as he had only once allowed more than six home runs in a full minor league season, which was in 2018 when he allowed 11 but in 156 innings.

Zeuch pitched the majority of the 2021 season in the Buffalo Bisons starting rotation where he tossed 58 innings, but had his highest minor league ERA since his first year right after being drafted.

His most memorable moment in the organization, other than making his major league debut, was tossing a no-hitter for the Buffalo Bisons on August 19, 2019.  The game was impressive as he only struck out three batters as he forced the Rochester Red Wings into 15 ground ball outs.

Derrick Goold from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has stated that Zeuch will be optioned to Triple-A Memphis when he lands in the organization.

While Zeuch is not a top-end pitching prospect, he can be a useful back of the rotation type pitcher.

Do you think it was time to move on from Zeuch or did the team cut ties to quick?