Jays Acquire SS Paul DeJong from Cardinals
Posted: Tue Aug 1, 2023 5:42 pm
Per MLB wiretap
https://www.mlb.com/news/paul-dejong-trade-to-blue-jays
Details to follow
https://www.mlb.com/news/paul-dejong-trade-to-blue-jays
Details to follow
The Cardinals are to receive 24-year-old right-handed reliever Matt Svanson in return.
DeJong, who turns 30 tomorrow, has bounced back offensively this year from an increasingly rough three-year period. DeJong has a 96 wRC+ on the season with 13 home runs in 306 plate appearances.
DeJong burst on the scene with a 123 wRC+ for the Cardinals in 2017, hitting 25 home runs and garnering a second place Rookie of the Year finish. In March of the following year, the Cards inked him to a six-year, $26MM extension. That deal includes a $12.5MM club option with a $2MM buyout for 2024, plus a $15MM option with a $1MM buyout for ’25. For the remainder of this season, DeJong is owed about $3MM.
DeJong’s bat slipped to a league average level in 2018-19, but he still popped 30 home runs, made the All-Star team, and posted a career-best 3.7 WAR in ’19. However, his offense started slipping in 2020, and by 2022 Tommy Edman supplanted him as the Cardinals’ primary shortstop, at least by defensive innings played. 2022 was a low point for DeJong, as he was optioned to Triple-A for a period of nearly three months.
This year, DeJong started the season on the IL with a back injury, joining the Cardinals in late April. He was able to regain the team’s starting shortstop job on the strength of a huge couple weeks.
As a defender, DeJong has posted above-average marks in recent years. His Statcast outs above average ranks 21st among qualified shortstops since 2021, similar to Brandon Crawford and Ha-Seong Kim. His defensive runs saved ranks 15th in that time, despite fewer innings than many of those ahead of him.
DeJong might not be the right-handed bat the Blue Jays had been seeking, but assuming he can continue as a league average hitter, he’s likely the best possible shortstop replacement for Bichette that GM Ross Atkins could find on deadline day.