The Toronto Blue Jays have finalized a deal to acquire shortstop Paul DeJong and cash from the St. Louis Cardinals.
The move comes a day after Bo Bichette suffered a knee injury against the Baltimore Orioles, leaving the Blue Jays without their starting shortstop.
The Blue Jays are sending 24-year-old relief prospect Matt Svanson to St. Louis in the deal, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. He has spent 2023 at low and high-A, posting a 1.11 ERA in 32.1 innings across both levels.
While DeJong hasn’t been a huge producer, the shortstop market was considered relatively thin leading into the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
As Nicholson-Smith explains, DeJong ranks in the 97th percentile for outs above average, so he could definitely handle if Bichette needs to spend time on the injured list. The right-hander has a .710 OPS this season and a lifetime .731 OPS.
There are club options on DeJong’s contract for 2024 and ‘25.
The 29-year-old batted under the .200 mark the past two years, but is over that figure this season.
DeJong has 13 homers and 32 RBI while hitting .233/.297/.412 for a Cardinals team that has played below expectations this year.
The Orlando native was an All-Star in 2019, two years after making his major-league debut with the Cardinals.
