Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong likely to open season on injured list

Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong has been dealing with some back tightness and suffered a setback Monday. 

He told Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he was planning to serve as the club’s designated hitter Tuesday but now doubts he’ll get into a game before camp breaks. He said he can’t flex or rotate his spine without pain. Since Opening Day is now just over a week away, he seems destined for a trip to the injured list to begin the year.

It’s an unfortunate start to the season for DeJong, one that figures to be important for him. He’s headed into the final guaranteed season of the six-year, $26M extension he signed prior to the 2018 campaign. At that time, he was coming off an excellent rookie season in 2017 in which he hit 25 home runs and slashed .285/.325/.532 for a wRC+ of 123.

Unfortunately, his offense has been trending down in each season since then. His wRC+ dropped to 103 and then 101 in the first two years of that deal, then 87 and 85 in the next two, before dropping to a dismal 55 last year. 

He struck out in 33.3% of his plate appearances in 2022 and finished with a batting line of .157/.245/.286. Tommy Edman took over the shortstop job and DeJong was even optioned to the minors for over two months in the middle of last summer. Edman hit .265/.324/.400 last year for a wRC+ of 108 and earned strong grades across the board for his shortstop defense.

Despite the struggles at the plate, DeJong is well suited for a backup infield role given his own defense. Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating have always been fond of his glovework and that has continued to be the case. Outs Above Average had mixed feelings about DeJong’s early career work but gave him a +4 in 2021 and a +5 last year.

DeJong is set to make $9M this season, which is certainly a high price to pay for a backup infielder. But the money is already committed and his work in the field is good, so there’s little harm in keeping him around as a bench piece. He has now surpassed five years of service time, meaning he can no longer be optioned to the minors without his consent. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak indicated in December that the club planned to keep DeJong, saying that they’re “not ready to cut bait” on him. The Marlins reportedly had some trade talks with the Cards about DeJong this winter but it didn’t seem much progress was made.

The extension that DeJong originally signed has a pair of club options. There’s a $12.5M option for 2024 with a $2M buyout and a $15M option for 2025 with a $1M buyout. There was a time when those options would have seemed like bargains but they now seem highly unlikely to be picked up. DeJong would have to produce an incredible offensive turnaround for it to even be a consideration this year, which will be hard to pull off while serving in a part-time role. Injuries to other players could potentially open up more playing time for him down the road, but DeJong is the one hurt at the moment.

While it doesn’t seem like DeJong is going to be out for an extended stretch of time, the Cards will still have a bit less depth in the middle infield until he recovers. Edman should be the everyday shortstop, with Brendan Donovan likely at second base on most days. Donovan can also play elsewhere, including shortstop, which could open up some more playing time for Nolan Gorman. 

If they want another middle infielder on the team, they could select a non-roster invitee like Taylor Motter, who is having a nice spring. José Fermín is on the 40-man but was recently shut down for a few weeks with a quad strain. But if the Cards feel the trio of Edman, Donovan and Gorman is enough cover until DeJong gets back, perhaps that opens a bench spot for an outfielder like Alec Burleson.