Now that the season is over, the crew at Blue Jays from Away will take a look at the Blue Jays one by one and review how each player’s season went, whether he met expectations (or not) and look at how he fits into (what we think of) the Blue Jays’ plans going forward.
T.J. House made headlines before the season started, after he was hit in the back of the head with a batted ball during a Spring Training game. Formerly in Cleveland’s organization, the Jays had signed him to a minor-league contract in December of 2016, with an invitation to Spring Training. Fortunately for House, the frightening injury did not have any lasting symptoms and he pitched his first game for the Buffalo Bisons a month later.
The left-hander spent most of the year in Triple-A, but got called up at the end of August thanks to an injury-riddled bullpen. He pitched one scoreless inning in Tampa Bay on August 22nd, without allowing a baserunner. His second, and final, outing with the Toronto club was less successful. Against Minnesota on the 25th, he again pitched one inning, but allowed three hits, a walk, and a run. He stranded the bases loaded to end the game, as the Blue Jays lost 6-1.
House was designated for assignment on the 27th of the month, and outrighted to Buffalo two days later. He was not brought back up as part of the September call-ups, and pitched to a 4.32 ERA over 133 1/3 innings in 24 starts in Buffalo. His 2-inning stint in Toronto gave him an ERA of 4.50, with a WHIP of 2.00, and a K/BB rate of 1.
Contract status:
House elected free agency at the end of the 2017 season.
Regular season grades:
Jay Blue: Incomplete
Emily: B- (Small sample size)
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