The Chicago White Sox have agreed to a one-year MLB contract with veteran shortstop Paul DeJong, according to a report by ESPN's Jesse Rogers. DeJong has spent most of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, but had short stints with the Toronto Blue Jays and SF Giants this season. The move likely ensures that longtime White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson will be signing with a different team this offseason.
DeJong was drafted by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Illinois State and quickly ascended through the minor league ranks. Less than two years later, he had established himself as St. Louis' starting shortstop and hit .285/.325/.532 with 25 home runs in 108 games. With an impressive start to his big-league career, DeJong finished second in the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year voting.
The native of Orlando, Florida, proved to be a potent offensive threat alongside his defensive acumen from 2017-2019. He hit .251/.318/.467 over that span, highlighted by a 30-home run season in 2019 when he received his lone career All-Star selection.
However, since MLB stopped juicing the ball, DeJong's pop has seemingly evaporated overnight. He has not posted a single season OPS above .674 since 2019 and has managed a meager .201/.277/.355 line. Always an aggressive hitter at the plate who walked at below-average rates, DeJong's inability to get on base only exacerbated his dip in offensive production.
With the Cardinals out of contention, they traded DeJong to the Blue Jays at the 2023 deadline for a prospect. Toronto hoped to deploy DeJong as a utility infielder, but he entered the worst slump of his career. DeJong hit .068/.068/.068 with just three singles in 44 plate appearances with the Blue Jays before he was released and signed with the SF Giants.
DeJong homered in his first game with San Francisco, but still struggled. He posted a .184/.180/.286 triple-slash with 15 strikeouts in 50 plate appearances with the Giants before he was released in the final weeks of the season to clear a spot for infielder prospect Marco Luciano.
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