Paul DeJong

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Paul Sterling DeJong

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Biographical Information[edit]

Infielder Paul DeJong homered in his first major league at-bat. Called up by the St. Louis Cardinals to replace an injured Kolten Wong on May 28, 2017, he arrived at Coors Field with his team's game against the Colorado Rockies having already started. Still, he was called upon to pinch-hit for P John Brebbia, who had just made his own big league debut, in the 9th inning against closer Greg Holland. He drove a ball 399 feet into the left field stands. His long ball did not make much difference in the final score, however, as the Cards lost, 8-4. The last Cardinals player to homer in his first big league at-bat had been pitcher Mark Worrell, back in 2008. He was the National League Rookie of the Month for July as he hit .298 with 8 homers and 16 RBIs in 26 games. He continued his remarkable season in August, as when he hit his team-leading 17th homer for the Cards on August 12th, it gave him a combined 30 for the year between the minors and majors. His arrival in St. Louis had coincided with the team breaking a season-long spurt. They finally returned to the .500 level on August 7th, and continued to win after that, putting together an eight-game winning streak that placed them in a tie for first place in the NL Central. He finished the season at .285 in 108 games, with 26 doubles, 25 homers and 65 RBIs, but the Cards ended up missing the postseason.

On March 4, 2018, he signed a six-year contract extension with the Cardinals worth $26 million. He was slated to be the team's opening day shortstop, making him the 10th different player to hold that position in the last 11 years, but of the contract was any indication, the Cards planned to have him be the one who stopped that merry-go-round. The fact that they had traded Aledmys Diaz, the previous year's opening day starter, in the off-season, was another clear sign that he was now considered "the man." He played 115 games that season, hitting .241 with 19 homers and 58 RBIs, with his OPS+ falling to 103 after having been at 120 as a rookie. In 2019, he started the season very strong, being among the early leaders in WAR in the first weeks of the season after hitting .342 with 14 doubles, 5 homers and 13 RBIs in 29 games in March and April. That great first month led to his being named to the All-Star team for the first time, in spite of the fact he did not sustain his early production, hitting .200 in May and .218 in June, with an OPS below .700 both months. On July 24th, however, he had the first three-homer game of his career against the Pittsburgh Pirates. One of the homers came in the 2nd inning as the Cards scored 9 runs on their way to a 14-8 win. He finished the year at .233 in 159 games with 30 homers, 97 runs and 79 RBIs for an OPS+ of 99. He would not come close to matching these figures for homers, runs and RBIs over the following seasons but did make his postseason debut that year, going a combined 7 for 30 (.233) with 2 RBIs in two series.

In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he appeared in 45 of the 58 games played by the Cardinals, hitting .250 with 3 homers and 25 RBIs, his OPS+ falling further to 87. He went 2 for 10 as the Cards lost a see-saw battle to the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series. In 2021, his downfall continued as his batting average fell below the Mendoza Line in 113 games. He hit .197 with 19 homers and 45 RBIs, his OPS+ being at 85 as the increased power could not compensate for his inability to get on base (his OBP was a dismal .284). In the postseason, he made an out in his only at-bat in the Cardinals' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card Game. In 2022, he was a part-time player, sharing time with Tommy Edman and Edmundo Sosa at shortstop. His offensive production hit rock-bottom as he finished at .157 with 6 homers and 24 RBIs in 77 games, his OPS+ falling all the way to 52. He again was limited to a single at-bat in the postseason, making an out in the Cardinals' loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series.

Given his steady and seemingly unredeemable decline over the past three season, it was a mild surprise the DeJong was still in the majors in 2023, but he managed to have a bounce-back in the first few months, even though St. Louis was playing unexpectedly poorly, falling out of postseason contention early. His defensive statistics, which had kept him in the majors all those years, were as good as ever, and he managed to claim back the starting job at shortstop, hitting .233 in 81 games through the first four months, with 13 homers and 32 RBIs, his OPS+ climbing back into acceptable territory at 93. He caught a break when, the day before the trading deadline, the Toronto Blue Jays saw their All-Star shortstop, Bo Bichette, leave a game with an apparent knee injury. While acquiring a middle infielder had not been in the team's plans until then, they needed an insurance policy quickly in case Bichette were to miss extended time and on August 1st they swung a deal to acquire Paul, giving up Class A pitcher Matt Svanson in return; it was the third deal between the two teams in a span of ten days, as they had previously acquired relievers Genesis Cabrera and Jordan Hicks in separate trades. He was with the Blue Jays for two weeks, going an awful 3 for 44 with 18 strikeouts in 13 games, and was promptly designated for assignment as soon as Bichette was ready to return from the injured list on August 19th. He was immediately picked up by the San Francisco Giants and in his first game on August 23rd went 3 for 5 with a homer and 4 RBIs in an 8-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Maria Guardado: "'Had a great first day': DeJong (HR, 4 RBIs) propels Giants. Signed to a Major League deal on Wednesday, shortstop helps SF rally after blown save", mlb.com, August 24, 2023. [1]
  • Julia Kreuz: "DeJong gives Blue Jays short-term lift, long-term options", mlb.com, August 1, 2023. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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