After being designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Saturday, shortstop Paul DeJong has reportedly been signed to a major league deal by the San Francisco Giants. DeJong was acquired by the Blue Jays (with some cash) on August 1st from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league pitcher Matt Svanson.
DeJong will join the Giants on Wednesday for an afternoon game against the Philadelphia Phillies, ESPN’s Bob Nightengale, who was first to report the news, noted.
Despite spending a very short tenure with the Blue Jays, the seven-year vet served an important role in patrolling the shortstop position while Bo Bichette was on the injured list with a knee injury. DeJong played 108 innings in the field and did not commit a single error, but he was unable to match that type of play with his bat. In 44 plate appearances, DeJong had only three hits, one RBI, and eighteen strikeouts versus zero walks.
Fortunately for DeJong, he is going from one contending team to another, as the Giants currently sit in the third Wild Card spot in the National League. Conveniently enough, the Giants actually showed interest in acquiring DeJong prior to the trade deadline, so this works out perfectly for them.
The Giants are in somewhat of a dilemma at shortstop, as veteran Brandon Crawford was sent to the 10-day IL just two days ago with a left forearm strain. They signed INF Johan Camargo earlier this month after being released by the Tigers to assist for the interim, pairing with rookie Casey Schmitt to play in Crawford’s absence. All three of the above names aren’t producing very much at the plate, so they’re hoping DeJong’s worst at-bats are behind him and he can spark an offence that ranks 21st in the MLB in runs per game.
Furthermore, the Giants love to operate with platoons, so adding a right-handed bat in DeJong will go nicely with Crawford once he returns. DeJong doesn’t make the Giants World Series favourites, but he is a competent MLB player that fills a need for them.
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