As the Yankees search for infield help after losing second baseman Gleyber Torres in free agency last month, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Paul DeJong is among the names the club is currently considering.
DeJong, 31, has spent the vast majority of his career with the Cardinals to this point. After being selected in the fourth-round of the 2015 draft by St. Louis, he rose through the ranks of the minor leagues quickly and made his debut during the 2017 season. The first few years of his career went quite well, as he hit a solid .251/.318/.467 (108 wRC+) in his first three years with the club while working his way into the Cardinals lineup as their everyday shortstop. He enjoyed a particularly strong season in 2019, when he slugged 30 home runs and put up fantastic numbers on defense en route to an All-Star appearance.
Things started to take a turn for the worse starting with the shortened 2020 season, however, and his offense took a major step back until he ultimately lost his starting job with the Cardinals. Eventually, he was traded midway through the 2023 season having slashed just .207/.285/.368 (80 wRC+) over his final four years with the club. He bounced around the Blue Jays and Giants down the stretch and hit just .129/.128/.183 over the season’s final two months before reaching free agency, where he eventually signed with the White Sox.
While 2024 was a season to forget on the south side of Chicago, that had nothing to do with DeJong’s performance. Taking over for Tim Anderson as the club’s starting shortstop in the first half, DeJong enjoyed the best season he’s had since his aforementioned 2019 All-Star campaign. That strong performance earned him a trade to the Royals, and he shifted to third base in deference to Bobby Witt Jr. down the stretch as the Royals made their first playoff appearance since winning the World Series in 2015. Overall, he slashed a decent .227/.276/.427 (95 wRC+) in 482 plate appearances that brought his offensive contributions within spitting distance of league average. That combined with strong glovework at both shortstop and third base made DeJong a 1.7 fWAR player in 2024, or a roughly average regular.
A player whose best season in half a decade saw him become more or less average is sure to come with warts, and DeJong is no exception. His .276 on-base percentage last year was the eighth-lowest figure among all hitters with at least 450 trips to the plate, and his 32.4% strikeout rate was third-highest among that same group. DeJong’s excessive whiffs and difficulty getting on-base are somewhat made up for by his considerable pop; he clubbed 24 homers last year, good for eighth among shortstops and ninth among third baseman despite him not getting enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. With his combination of power and defense, DeJong seems like a good bet to earn at least semi-regular playing time in 2025.
Whether that playing time will ultimately come with the Yankees is unclear. DeJong is unlikely to cost much even after a solid enough platform season, and that’s sure to be appreciated by a Yankees club that seems to be stretched thin financially as things stand. Heyman suggests that offloading some of right-hander Marcus Stroman’s salary could allow the Yankees to spend a bit more in their search for infield help, though even if they’re successful in their efforts to shop the veteran hurler it stands to reason they’ll remain out on top-of-the-market options like Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado.
While the Yankees apparently don’t have much desire to pay a premium in free agency or trade to add infield help, there’s a clear need for another option at either second or third base. Jazz Chisholm Jr. can be a solid regular at either position and appears to be ticketed for the keystone as things stand, but that would leave third base to some combination of DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza. LeMahieu turns 37 in July and is coming off a 2024 season where he was among the worst hitters in baseball (52 wRC+), while Peraza has just 74 games of experience at the big league level. That leaves Cabrera as the club’s best option at present, but his .247/.296/.365 (88 wRC+) leaves much to be desired as an everyday player despite his value on the bench.
LMAO. What middle infielder have the Yankees not considered?? If they don’t believe in Vivas, Pereza or Arias. TRADE THEM!!!! RELEASE DJL!!!!
What is Brian’s last name? “Cash-man”. So sad.
Yankees have some passionate fans and overall their team will be competitive next year. But they are fighting for discarded recyclables with the unhoused. Just telling it as it is.
Absolutely. NYY are junk collectors. They love sub .250 bats.
My bad, he hit .250 early in his career. He’s a .207 bum with an under .300 OPS. This guy is forever junk. Go ahead Yankees scrap Verdooki off the bottom of you shoe and pack your line up with lousy bats. AJ only hit with such a high avenge on 2024 because Soto was in there. Now they don’t have to pitch to AJ any more. Back to walks and lower average and OPS without Soto. But Paul DeJong Goldy and Belly are the answer. Not Bregman or Araez lol NYY don’t want current allstars or batting champs lol they want guys that either have never been good or used to be.
DeJong is a terrible defender. He developed an “O-Lay!” type of defense with the Sox which caused a lot of hoppers to get by him at ss and 3b. Don’t like the Yankees, but wouldn’t wish this for them.
@mlb @178
Yall keep saying the same thing. Until I read a quote that says “Cashman says..”. and stop acting like Cadhman has a history of shopping like their the Oakland A’s. They add $100 mil or more just about ebay off-season so stop acting like their cheap. But their up against the highest luxury tax and they’ve already given up 2 early draft picks and are trying to reserve money in case Sasaki chooses them.
What boggles my mind Yankees made a $760 million offer for Soto yet if he accepted this team would had no money to fill other holes and be worst than last year! Thank GOD he bolted for Mets as they can survive with a weak hitting 2B although I do believe Peraza/ Vivas or Cabrera combination will be adequate until trade deadline
@Anthony
That’s what’s great about this organization. They absolutely are ready to blow up the budget to retain Soto AND improve the team. There’s zero chance they would’ve ignored other glaring needs. in 100%, sure they would’ve finished the job. Now, maybe they would’ve gone after Walker Buhler instead of Fried and put some of that $218 back in their pocket and improved the back of rotation with Buehler, and maybe they would’ve given the 1b job to Rice but no way do they ignore the obvious holes in the lineup.
Trash-man. the worlds richest dumpster diver….. the little guy repels down the side and scrapes them up from the bottom better than any GM in MLB.
DL is still a gold glove at any infield position. The rest of the Yankee infielders on the roster don’t hit any better nor are they better fielders. NYY best best is that DL is healthy this year and hits! If he and Goldy hit and play all star defense and volpe and Jazz hit their weight but play all star defense all the Yankees need is for the rent of the dang team to hit and Score runs. Oh yea- they also need their pitchers to pitch and stay healthy. (Cole) !!! Seems easy enough lol
I think Scott Brosius (current age) would be more effective than Lemahieu this season.
@178
Bro, either you’re uneducated or just a liar. Volpe won a GG his rookie season and had a +16 Def War. Wells had a +18. Jazz had a +5. Cabrera a +2.8. We have to see about Goldy. Jazz had a combined 24 homers and 40 SB. He hit 11 hrs with the Yanks and a .227 ISO and .500 slugging.
They are all good defenders. Volpe is a great defender. He just can’t hit. I never said they weren’t great defenders. Just that they are not the kind of bats that will protect AJ like Soto. 95% of Jazz’s 2024 numbers were when on the marlins a losing team no pitcher cares about. And most of his HR’s and stolen bases were in losing games. No one cares what he did in the Marlins lmao he was junk on the NYY. And speaking of uneducated he’s one of the dumbest thinking fielders in the league. Why do you think he’s on the Yankees ? No one else wanted him. Good fielder though. Just isn’t a smart one.
Bro, these things can be looked up. You’re completely talking out your hiney, and while I’m not here to defend the Yanks on every comment, it just seems like everything you say is negative and mostly non- factual. I get it, you hate the Yanks like I hate the Red Sox, but I don’t conjure up things that are untrue or do so without researching.
-DJ vs. the others: I’m not one that wants to cut DJ. He had a hip injury, and his starting days might be behind him, but if healthy, I feel he could be a contributor off the bench. His glove rated above average with a dWar of +2.4. However, he was nowhere near the best on the infield. Volpe was a +16, Jazz a +5 and Wells a +18. Even utility guy, Cabrera was a +2.4.
-Volpe absolutely showed some regression with the bat from his 2023 rookie season. His homers dipped from 22 to 13, and his walk rate dropped a little too. He has 29 walls in the 1st half but only 13 in the 2nd. He did lower his k rate from 28% to 23%. He did manage to hit 27 dbs, 7 trips, and 12 homers with 28 SB and managed to score 90 runs at the bottom of the lineup. So he’s a work in progress, but there’s something to build on.
-Jazz: You made a comment that most of his good numbers came from when he was with the Marlins. A cursory glance at his stats would’ve revealed otherwise. He slashed .249/.323/407 with 13 homers, 22 SB, and a .730 OPS in 430 PA with Miami. In just 191 PA in NY, he hit almost as many homers with 11 vs. 13 in Miami. He had an OPS 95 points higher at .825. He also had 18 SB vs. 22 in Miami. His slash was .273/.325/.500. Yanks RF wall liked him as he hit 9 of his 11 at home. He still needs improvement, but maybe the Yanks hitting staff can get more out of him.
Wells started off slow, but once he was put in that 4, 5, 6 slot, he took off in the 2nd half, posting a June OPS of .746, .941 in July and .946 in August. He cratered in September to .411, perhaps hitting a wall from exhaustion? He needs to be more consistent but his walk/k rate are good @ 11% vs 21% and he had legit power so well see where it goes but I could envision him hitting 20+ homers next year if healthy.
@mlb
I was thinking to myself, “there’s no way I could see Cashman giving ANY reporter this much access to their daily inclinations of who they might be interested in”. I truly think this is just some reporter glossing over some names. Can ANYONE really envision Cashman going thru this process and sharing it with a reporter? Maybe he’s creating smoke to pressure Padres to come back to the table? Just odd that they would literally relay news of 10 different players that they are interstellar in AND then let it be known that their receiving interest in their own infielder like Cabrera. It’s all weird to me.
@Knicks They haven’t leaked a thing this offseason – Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams, Paul Goldschmdt, and Trent Grisham. Even a blind squirrel (reporters) finds a nut sometimes.
Vivas didn’t impress after he returned from injury. He’ll stick around.
Arias is only 19 and has awesome tools. He Ks way too much. So much so, that they didn’t promote him to high A. That said, it would be madness to give up on him.
Releasing DJL would still count against the tax and add dead money. They can DFA him if he’s blocking a man, but it won’t make any difference.
As for Peraza, he’s my first choice. He solid defensively and his bat showed signs of life – 16 HRs .341 OPS at multiple levels in 2024,
As for DeJong, he’s a below average hitter who’s 31. Pass.
It’s a shame the Yankees don’t just grab Arenado.
Defensively the Yankees would have one of the most outstanding defenses in the entire American League!!!
Plus —- Arenado hit .275 and they say he had a down year!! In retrospect, now a days, .275 isn’t a down year for any MLB Player.
Why? I would rather fill the position from within. SD has a guy who is a left hand batter named Cromwell I think. Better bat.
Eh, close enough
Close enough of a player too 😉
Oliver?
Ugh, I’d rather take a one year $8m flier on Yoan Moncada if Arenado and Bregman are too much to add.
Yikes
Oof-da !
Is “considering” above “interested”…
I think it’s one notch below?
Makes sense…
But have they “checked in with…”? We demand answers!
Is IKF not available?
He’s on the Pirates.
Ugggghhhh, don’t give me the heebies…
Why?
Jose Iglesias is better than a lot of these options they are “considering.”
@top
Agreed. scratching my head too.
.276 OBP, 156 strikeouts, righty hitter and a terrible fielder. WTF would you sign him?? I’d rather play Waldo!
His fielding at 3rd is decent. He’s no longer a shortstop though.
Only makes sense if DeJong is getting hired to be a utility guy and the Yankees found a Stroman deal where the other team also wants Cabrera in the pot.
No, it still doesn’t make sense.
Played a pretty solid 3B between the Royals and White Sox last season (albeit only 328 innings) and seemed to find his power stroke again. Not necessarily better than whats already there but on a 1 year deal it’s not the worst signing
He’s also a right handed pull hitter whose HR’s are mostly wall scrapers. Not sure he’s a fit for Yankee Stadium.
DeJong is more than capable at 3B, 2B, and ss. With the Cubs having concerns with Shaw at third, and Hoerner coming back from injury at 2nd, why not offer a one year deal? 24 homers last year is nothing to sneeze at.Much rather have him on the roster than Mastrobuoni.
Interested in DeJong… because the ask for Arraez is set high! Food for thought to all the negative Nancy’s out here in Padreville! No names… but YOU KNOW who you are!
“YOU ARE THE FATHER!”
I’m stirred by this rumor, if not shaken.
I’m considering being interested in this comment…
“Shaken, not stirred”
“Right away, Mister…”
“Bond… James, Bond”
Heyman has one of those rotating dartboards, one for catcher, one each for infielders, outfielders, relievers, etc. when he needs to generate a story, he spins the wheel and today we got DeJong. He uses vague enough language that it can’t be disproven. Grain of salt.
Yep. He’s a writer.
Gotta write something,right? If that’s how you want to make your living.
Great choice.
I mean… sure? Man they are bargain barrel digging with a log jam of sunk cost contracts they have yet to make a move for, which would help clarify what’s worth their time and money.
Rumors like this seem deeply ambivalent about DJLM/Chisholm/Cabrera, etc.
Tbh, if there’s any truth to these latest batch of rumors, let’s just get the lefties for the pen and get on with the season with what we got. DJ/Cab/Pera can handle it till the break. Reevaluate then.
And just to note, I don’t hate the players being mentioned as much as others (maybe Polanco lol), but I just don’t know if any of them are a clear upgrade.
Agreed
I’m just reading about a bunch of guys that should be non-roster invitees and I’m wondering (hoping) if it’s a smoke screen for something like signing HSK.
Starting pitching is the one position almost guaranteed to have an injury these days so I don’t hate the idea of carrying 6 starters in the beginning of the year just in case. Stroman can eat innings and considering that the first 6 weeks w have a ton of games in cold climates, I wouldn’t mind having an extra arm for length to give the pen a rest.
How about Kiké Hernández?
That’s tomorrow’s rumors. And then Nicky Lopez over the weekend.
DeNothanks
If they are going to look at .230 hitters, then they might as well go with one of DJL, Peraza or Cabrera. It is frustrating tha they could not come up with a better than average infielder to complete Plan B. I dont get Cashman’s fascination with the scrap heap. He does this every off season. Makes a few good moves and them goes to the scrap heap when one more good signing makes their odds to get to the WS go up.
If you go by what Cashman said after they lost Soto and signed Fried, he wants to focus on opponent runs prevention. I guess he did achieve that with Williams (for Holmes), Bellinger (Soto), and Goldy (Rizzo/Rice). I’m pretty sure whoever is at 2B will play better defense than Gleyber.
Dejong is a poor man’s
Yankee fans will have two past times this summer: putting down Dejong, and putting down the Bong.
While we’re on the subject, am I the only one getting junk emails advertising Tommy Chong gummies?
it is hard to fully understand the Yankees seemingly reluctant to give Cabrerra or Peraza a legitimate chance. I think if you put your confidence in one of them and told them now , like today, that you are hoing to be the guy so get ready it would be solved i house. Playing while thinking your team actually believes in you makes a difference
Really? At least he had power in the past. If they are going to penny pinch go sign adam Frazier and let him groom 1 of the young kids like peraza or visas. I’d say they have that in DJL but he will be on the DL
This is legitimately worse than just going in house. This would be a counter productive move.
The only available players that are better than what they have are Bregman, Arenado, Arraez, maybe Polanco.
They aren’t going to take on much salary, so the only guy that makes sense is Polanco, or just do what they always do and go into the season with a huge question mark at 3rd and scramble to fix it at the deadline.
My question is, Why aren’t the M’s???
He’s good enough for the Yankees but not the Mariners?
Dammit, Jerry, get off your ass!
DeJong, Rogers, etc. are all just minor league contract with ST invite options. Perhaps they get a ML deal before ST but it won’t be with NY.
They’ll either pull the trigger on an inf trade (Arenado, Arreaz) or collect depth to challenge DJ, Peraza, Cabrera and Vivas.
I see no rush. Adding an inf before the trade deadline is fine, if even needed.
An 0.9 WAR player is far from being “legitimately one of if not worst every Dat player”.
Guardians should sign him as a untily player for the bench. Can play 2nd base and short stop and 3 base.
What ever happened to Tim Anderson?
He was really, really good for a couple of years. Then his head exploded?
I hope he gets back on track!
Pinga! WHY do teams avoid Iglesias?
Both had good bats for average.
I’m wondering same on Iglesias. He’s not the greatest, but he had a pretty good season last year.
The Yankees have 30 million reasons to not sign another infielder, and he is named DJ LeMahieu. They also have Jazz Chisholm who can play 2B or 3B. They added Paul Goldschmidt at 1B, who makes everyone’s defense better in the infield by the way he scoops practically every low throw.
But are they interested?
When Soto left I knew the team would be worse but I didn’t think we would take a step back from Gleyber too. And there’s no guarantee that Goldschmidt is even as good as an average 1st basemen.
This team needs some OBP and less K really bad and Bregman is out there just waiting. But no, let’s get some cast offs who were good one time 5 years ago.