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Paul DeJong

Red Sox, Marlins Have Discussed Joey Wendle In Trade Talks

By Anthony Franco | December 22, 2022 at 5:52pm CDT

The Red Sox have had some discussions with the Marlins about infielder Joey Wendle, reports Chad Jennings of the Athletic. There’s no indication a deal is imminent or even likely, as he’s one of a number of names whom Boston has looked into as they search for middle infield help.

Wendle is headed into his second season in Miami. The Marlins acquired him from their in-state counterparts last offseason, sending minor league outfielder Kameron Misner to the Rays. That was one of a number of transactions Miami made in hopes of adding a jolt to their lineup, as they also brought in Jacob Stallings via trade and Avisaíl García and Jorge Soler through free agency.

None of those additions panned out as expected in year one. Wendle had his worst season in a few years, hitting .259/.297/.360 over 371 trips to the plate. He kept his strikeout rate in check, punching out in a career-low 13.5% of plate appearances. That higher-contact approach was the product of increased aggressiveness at the dish, and it tamped down his walk rate to a meager 4% clip. Wendle managed just three home runs, and he played in only 101 games around a trio of injured list stints thanks to issues with both hamstrings.

Wendle’s value is certainly at a low ebb, though there are reasons the Boston front office could view him as a solid bounceback target. He’d posted above-average offensive numbers in three of his four seasons with Tampa Bay, showing the ability to handle the AL East. Between 2018-21, the left-handed batter compiled a .274/.330/.414 mark in just under 1500 plate appearances. His power and walk rates were both a touch below average, but he demonstrated plus contact skills. He was particularly adept against right-handed pitching, putting together a .287/.337/.439 mark with the platoon advantage. During his first two seasons with the Rays, Wendle overlapped with Chaim Bloom. The current Red Sox chief baseball officer was a high-ranking member of the Tampa Bay front office at the time.

At his best, Wendle pairs that slightly above-average offense with quality defense around the infield. He’s primarily a second and third baseman, logging more than 1500 career innings at each spot. Public defensive metrics have loved the former All-Star’s work at the keystone, while he’s earned more solid but unspectacular marks at the hot corner. Wendle has never been an everyday player at shortstop, but he’s logged limited time there in each of the last five years. He topped out with 233 1/3 innings for Miami this past season, posting strong marks in that very limited sample.

Jennings suggests the Red Sox are eyeing Wendle as a potential option at shortstop after the departure of Xander Bogaerts. Turning to him there regularly would be a bold gambit, as he’s headed into his age-33 season and coming off a year in which he was nagged by leg injuries. Playing him more frequently at second base with an occasional game at shortstop would be more straightforward, yet Jennings suggests the front office is somewhat divided on how best to handle the middle infield.

Boston signed Trevor Story to a $140MM free agent deal last offseason. The longtime Rockie shortstop posted strong defensive numbers throughout his time in Colorado, but some evaluators raised questions about his arm late in that tenure. That wasn’t a concern in 2022, as Story moved to second base in deference to Boagerts. He posted strong numbers there, showcasing high-end range and hands. His arm remained subpar, though, with Statcast ranking him 155th out of 162 qualified infielders in maximum throw speed. Story averaged 76.1 MPH on his throws, around four MPH below average at second base and nearly 10 ticks below the league mark at shortstop.

That alone doesn’t mean Story can’t play shortstop. He’d had a below-average arm for the position in both 2020-21 and still rated highly there by measure of both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating (albeit with less enthusiastic reviews from Statcast). Bloom has previously suggested Story’s presently the favorite for the position, but Jennings writes that some in the front office would rather keep Story at second base and play Enrique Hernández at shortstop. That’d require finding someone to replace Hernández in center field, so bringing in another middle infielder would be the simpler solution.

Wendle figures to be attainable in trade, even if Jennings characterizes Miami’s current asking price as high. With over five years of MLB service, Wendle is in his final year of team control. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $5.4MM salary for his final arbitration season. That’s reasonable but not insignificant for a Miami club that is seemingly up against it from a payroll perspective. The Marlins are known to be looking for ways to upgrade their lineup and have yet to address it in any meaningful capacity. Moving Wendle’s salary while recouping some pre-arbitration or minor league talent could be appealing for general manager Kim Ng and her staff as they try to create some flexibility to kickstart their offseason.

It seems a trade is Boston’s preferred means for adding the up-the-middle talent they desire. Jennings suggests any interest on their part in the top remaining free agent shortstops like Elvis Andrus and José Iglesias is fairly modest. He reports they’ve given internal consideration to players like Cleveland’s Amed Rosario and St. Louis’ Paul DeJong at points this winter but no longer seem to be targeting those players. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported earlier this month that Boston had reached out to the Fish on shortstop Miguel Rojas; however, it seems unlikely Miami would move Rojas, a clubhouse leader and quality defensive shortstop, without being overwhelmed by the return.

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Boston Red Sox Miami Marlins Amed Rosario Enrique Hernandez Joey Wendle Paul DeJong Trevor Story

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Latest On Cardinals’ Offseason Priorities

By Anthony Franco | December 5, 2022 at 9:22pm CDT

The Cardinals have had a quiet offseason, with minor league infielder Jose Fermín being their only outside acquisition to date. That’s certain to change in the coming days and weeks, as St. Louis will undoubtedly bring in a catcher. They could look to the rotation and perhaps to the middle infield or corner outfield markets as well, although they have a number of position players on a typically deep St. Louis roster.

Entering the offseason, there was a fair bit of speculation the Cards could partake in the loaded free agent shortstop class. There’s not much indication they’ve dived deeply into that market, although Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweeted this afternoon they’ve at least checked in with free agent options at the position. Still, it doesn’t seem that’s a huge priority, as president of baseball operations John Mozeliak reiterated this evening the team is comfortable with Tommy Edman as their primary shortstop (via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). The top St. Louis executive went on to note the team likes Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman as second base possibilities.

That’s a sentiment Mozeliak has expressed a few times in the offseason’s early going. Asked about the possibility of adding a shortstop last week, Mozeliak replied that Edman is “is a very, very good shortstop” (link via Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic). While he’s never expressly ruled out an acquisition at the position, Mozeliak has extolled Edman when given the chance. The switch-hitting infielder is a Gold Glove caliber defender at both middle infield positions, and he’s coming off a quality .265/.324/.400 line through 630 plate appearances.

Edman could certainly move back to second base, but the presence of Donovan and Gorman gives St. Louis plenty of options. The former finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting this year after posting an excellent .394 on-base percentage through his first 126 MLB games. The latter had strikeout concerns but connected on 14 home runs in 89 games as a rookie after mashing in Triple-A. Neither Donovan nor Gorman is a strong defensive fit for up-the-middle work, but that’s perhaps not as significant a concern for a St. Louis team that otherwise has plus defenders (Paul Goldschmidt, Edman and Nolan Arenado) manning the dirt.

Paul DeJong also remains under contract, due $11MM and headed into the last guaranteed season of his deal. The former All-Star is coming off a third straight well below-average offensive season that kicked him down the depth chart, but the front office has consistently maintained they expected he’d bounce back. After a .157/.245/.286 showing in 77 MLB games in 2022, DeJong can’t be counted on for everyday reps on a win-now team. Yet it’s possible he sticks on the roster as a glove-first complement to Gorman and Donovan in the middle infield.

Mozeliak suggested DeJong is likely to be with St. Louis heading into 2023, telling reporters tonight (via Jones) they’re “not ready to cut bait” on the 29-year-old. He indicated the Cards have received some trade interest in DeJong — presumably from teams asking they’d pay down most of the contract while accepting a meager return — but suggested that’s not a course of action the Cards plan to take.

It seems a long shot the Cardinals end up landing one of the three remaining top shortstops, with more motivated teams in the bidding. However, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets the team could circle back to that market if they find their desired catching upgrade on the trade market. Dansby Swanson, who’s expected to command a lighter contract than either of Carlos Correa or Xander Bogaerts, would be the likely target in that event, Goold suggests. It seems any full-fledged pursuit of a shortstop for St. Louis would first be conditional on affordably solidifying the situation behind the plate, and it’s still not clear the team would consider a marquee investment at the position to be especially appealing.

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Cardinals, Phillies Swap Edmundo Sosa For JoJo Romero

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | July 30, 2022 at 1:00pm CDT

The Phillies and Cardinals announced agreement on a trade sending infielder Edmundo Sosa from St. Louis to Philadelphia for left-handed reliever JoJo Romero. Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of the Athletic first reported Sosa was being traded to Philadelphia. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in the past couple days that the Cards have been discussing trades involving Sosa and could bring Paul DeJong back to the big league roster.

The Cards and Phillies enter play Saturday tied for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. It’s rare to see clubs this close in the standings exchange big leaguers, but the teams’ needs lined up well enough to facilitate a deal. Sosa had surpassed DeJong on the depth chart late last season, receiving the lion’s share of shortstop playing time down the stretch and putting up a solid .271/.346/.389 line over his first extended run in the big leagues. Yet both players have since been supplanted, as the arrival of top prospect Nolan Gorman at second base has pushed Tommy Edman across the bag to shortstop.

Sosa, kicked to the bench in a utility capacity, has struggled significantly in 2022. He’s not collected a single homer in 131 plate appearances, hitting only .189/.244/.270 with a 29% strikeout rate. He’s out of minor league option years, so the Cardinals had to either keep Sosa on the active roster or make him available to other teams. They initially chose to option out DeJong to keep both players on the 40-man roster, but the latter has gotten out a strong run at Triple-A Memphis of late. DeJong has a .249/.313/.552 showing with 17 homers in 230 plate appearances since being optioned, and he’ll seemingly be recalled to back up Gorman, Edman and utilityman Brendan Donovan as a power-hitting depth infielder.

Philadelphia has a less robust collection of infielders than does St. Louis, giving them more motivation to keep Sosa on the active roster and hope he rediscovers something approaching his 2021 form. The Phils have relied on Bryson Stott and Didi Gregorius in the middle infield of late, and Gregorius has struggled for the second consecutive year. The forthcoming return of Jean Segura from the injured list figures to kick Stott back to shortstop, and it’s worth wondering how the Phillies will handle the infield mix at that point. Gregorius could move into a utility role, but his .218/.274/.320 line could put his roster spot into jeopardy. Philadelphia could also choose to option either of Johan Camargo or Yairo Munoz, each of whom has played sporadically (primarily spelling Gregorius against left-handed pitching) in a utility infield capacity.

Sosa is only 26 years old, and he’s controllable through the 2026 season. He’s likely to qualify for arbitration this offseason as a Super Two player, but he wouldn’t command an exorbitant salary coming off a rough showing in sporadic playing time this year. The Phillies could keep him around for a while as a depth infielder if they’re committed to keeping him on the active roster.

In exchange, the Phils send a left-handed bullpen arm to St. Louis. Romero has appeared in 25 MLB games over the past three seasons, pitching to a 7.89 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old has been quite home run prone in the big leagues, but he’s averaged nearly 95 MPH on his fastball and received decent grades on both his changeup and slider while he was a prospect.

Romero has missed the bulk of the past two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery last May, but he returned from the injured list a couple weeks ago. He’s in his second of three option seasons, so the Cards can move him between St. Louis and Memphis over the next year and a half if he holds his 40-man roster spot. St. Louis already has Genesis Cabrera, Zack Thompson, Packy Naughton and T.J. McFarland as left-handed relievers in the majors, but Romero adds a hard-throwing depth piece to the upper levels.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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Newsstand Philadelphia Phillies St. Louis Cardinals Transactions Edmundo Sosa JoJo Romero Paul DeJong

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Cardinals Notes: DeJong, Matz, Molina

By Darragh McDonald | June 26, 2022 at 2:12pm CDT

After years of declining offense, the Cardinals optioned Paul DeJong to the minors in early May. Since that time, he’s showed some improved results, relatively speaking. Through 37 games with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, he’s hitting .230/.276/.500. The resulting 95 wRC+ is still below league average, but is miles ahead of the 25 wRC+ he posted at the MLB level this year.

Even if DeJong were to take a step forward and get into a nice groove, it will be difficult for him to force his way back to the big leagues due to the success of those already there. John Mozeliak, the team’s president of baseball operations, spoke to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the situation recently. “The way Tommy Edman’s playing, and we’re getting a lot of production out of our second basemen, (DeJong) is going to have to hit his way back,” Mozeliak said. “It’s really been a situation where he would go down, get himself right and then come back. In the meantime, there’s been a little bit of a Wally Pipp situation where the players who have taken over those positions have been thriving.” For those unfamiliar, Wally Pipp was a Yankees first baseman who was once replaced by Lou Gehrig, who then went on to play 2,130 consecutive games. Since then, Pipp’s name has become synonymous with a player’s job being stolen and never relinquished.

As Mozeliak mentioned, Edman is indeed playing well. The positional switch doesn’t seem to have slowed him down at all, as Statcast currently pegs him as having provided five Outs Above Average at both second base and shortstop, totaling ten on the season. DRS and UZR are similarly bullish on his glovework at both positions. At the plate, he’s hitting .274/.347/.407 for a wRC+ of 119. That’s just shy of the 124 from his rookie season and much better than the 91 he posted in each of the past two seasons.

As for the second basemen that were alluded to, since Edman moved to primary shortstop duty, the keystone has been manned by rookies Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman. Both of them are having great seasons at the plate, with Donovan hitting .311/.422/.416 for a wRC+ of 146 and Gorman slashing .255/.317/.455 for a wRC+ of 120. With the Cards getting that type of production from their middle infield, it’s understandable that they’re going to making DeJong show another gear before giving him another shot. DeJong is turning 29 in August and still under contract through 2023 at a $9MM salary. There are also club options for 2024 and 2025, at $12.5MM and $15MM, though those seem sure to be bought out, barring a major turnaround in the meantime.

Elsewhere on the roster, Mozeliak notes that Steven Matz has recuperated from his shoulder issues enough to throw a bullpen session and seems lined up to start a rehab assignment on Tuesday. Signed to a four-year, $44MM contract in the offseason, Matz has only been able to make nine starts so far, with diminished results. His 6.03 ERA is certainly unsightly, but there’s likely some misfortune in there. Matz actually improved his strikeout and walk rates compared to last year, but has a .350 BABIP, 67% strand rate and 21.1% HR/FB rate, all of those being worse than his career averages. As such, all of the advanced metrics believe him to be much better than that ERA, with xFIP going so far as to place him at 2.98. When Matz returns, he will likely join Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright and Dakota Hudson in the rotation, leaving Andre Pallante as the odd man out. Pallante has a 2.03 ERA through 48 2/3 innings thanks to a healthy 62.7% ground ball rate. However, his 15% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate are both worse than league average, with a .282 BABIP and 91.3% strand rate helping him keep that ERA down.

One member of the team who doesn’t seem close to a return, however, is franchise catcher Yadier Molina. Hummel relays that he has returned to his home in Puerto Rico while rehabbing his knee, with no timetable for his return. Turning 40 in a just over two weeks, Molina has already declared that this will be his final season. However, knee soreness has limited his production to a line of .213/.225/.294 on the year for a 47 wRC+. Andrew Knizner has gotten the bulk of playing time in his absence, though he’s hitting just .185/.281/.244 on the season for a 60 wRC+. With just over a month to go until the trade deadline, the health of Molina’s knees and the status of Knizner’s bat could compel the team to consider outside options before the August 2 cutoff.

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Notes St. Louis Cardinals Paul DeJong Steven Matz Yadier Molina

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Cardinals Option Paul DeJong To Triple-A, Select Kramer Robertson

By Mark Polishuk | May 10, 2022 at 3:05pm CDT

3:05 PM: The Cardinals have selected the contract of infielder Kramer Robertson to fill DeJong’s spot on the 26-man roster, the team announced. It’ll be the first taste of the bigs for the versatile 27-year-old.

Drafted out of LSU by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2017 amateur draft, Robertson has steadily worked his way through the St. Louis system, posting consistently solid numbers at each level. While he’s never had a ton of power, he has shown the ability to get on base, compiling a .248/.357/.369 triple-slash across five minor-league seasons. Across 100 plate appearances for Triple-A Memphis this year, he’s posted a .225/.380/.400 line.

With Edmundo Sosa likely returning from the COVID IL sooner than later, it could be a relatively short stay in the bigs for Robertson, but the fact he’s been added to the Cardinals 40-man roster could indicate a longer stay. For the time being at least, he’ll serve as the Cards’ primary backup at second, third, and shortstop — potentially sharing time with Brendan Donovan in that role when Sosa returns.

2:21 PM: The Cardinals have optioned shortstop Paul DeJong to Triple-A Memphis, The Athletic’s Katie Woo reports (Twitter link).  This clears the path for Tommy Edman to likely take over as the Cards’ regular shortstop.

With only a .130/.209/.208 slash line over his first 86 plate appearances of the season, DeJong’s offensive struggles have become too large for the Cardinals to overlook, even though his typically excellent glovework is still strong.  For a team that prizes defense as heavily as the Cards, DeJong’s ability in the field has given him a lot of leeway as a lineup regular, even as his offense has been in decline.

DeJong’s best offensive year is still his 2017 rookie season, as he finished second in NL Rookie Of The Year voting, and the Cards locked him up with a six-year, $26MM contract extension.  This was the largest (at the time) contract ever given to a player with under a year of MLB service time, and it isn’t like the extension was a real miscalculation, as per Fangraphs’ calculations, DeJong’s career $8.9 fWAR has been worth $70.9MM over his career.

However, DeJong’s power (74 homers in 2017-19) papered over his lack of average and OBP, but his slugging numbers have dramatically tailed off over the last three years.  The result is a 79 wRC+ over 662 PA since the start of the 2020 season.

Edmundo Sosa is currently on the COVID-related injured list, but has started a minor league rehab assignment and appears to be close to a return to St. Louis.  That will provide some additional depth at shortstop, plus Brendan Donovan can also play second base, giving the Cardinals some flexibility up the middle.

Edman and Sosa have also both looked good defensively at shortstop, albeit in smaller sample sizes at the big league level.  It is possible that moving DeJong wouldn’t lead to that much of a dropoff in glovework at shortstop, though since Edman is himself a reigning Gold Glove winner at second base, the Cardinals undoubtedly have some concern over whether they’d be weakening themselves at several positions.  Sosa essentially came out of nowhere to be a solid contributor to the 2021 team, but his limited track record in the majors or minors perhaps makes him something of a risk as a true everyday player.

Of course, the real x-factor here is Nolan Gorman, as the star second-base prospect is crushing Triple-A pitching.  It has become apparent that Gorman doesn’t have much left to prove in the minors, and St. Louis hasn’t traditionally been hesitant about calling up star prospects for important roles.  Having Edman, Sosa, and Donovan all on hand takes some of the pressure off Gorman to contribute right away, and it also isn’t out of the question that DeJong could return to the mix if he gets on track in the minors.

St. Louis still owes DeJong the remainder of his $6MM salary for the 2022 season, plus $9MM for 2023.  The Cardinals have a $12.5MM club option for 2024 that looks like a sure thing to be declined, with DeJong receiving a $2MM buyout.  While not a huge sum, if the Cards are really ready to move on from DeJong entirely, they could explore trying to move him before the trade deadline, possibly for another team’s undesirable contract.

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NL Notes: Eflin, Lauer, DeJong

By Darragh McDonald | May 2, 2022 at 8:50pm CDT

Due to the lockout putting MLB business on ice for over three months, there are many players who don’t yet have a finalized salary for the 2022 campaign. Any arbitration-eligible players that couldn’t come to an agreement with their team will soon participate in a hearing as the season is in progress. The Phillies have one such player, right-hander Zach Eflin, who is hoping for a $6.9MM figure while the club will be arguing for the lower figure of $5.15MM. (MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected $6MM, a number pretty close to the midpoint between the two parties.)

Eflin recently spoke about the situation to Matt Gelb of the Athletic. “I know what I bring to this club every fifth day,” Eflin said. “And I see my true value more than what their offer was. So that’s really all I have to say. I’m curious to see what they have to say in a courtroom. So, it’ll be interesting, but I’m looking forward to it.”

If the pitcher is particularly motivated for this fight, it’s possible that he’s still holding a grudge from an incident in 2019. The Phillies optioned Eflin, despite the fact that he was pitching well, in order to get an extra bench player on the roster. They had a double-header coming up that week, which lined up with Eflin’s upcoming start. Since teams are allowed to bring up an extra player for double-headers, they were able to option Eflin, call him up as the extra man for the double-header and then call him up for real for the start after that. Because of these roster shenanigans, Eflin ended up missing out on nine days of MLB salary, costing him about $20K. (According to this Gelb piece from the time of the incident.) “Players don’t forget that,” Eflin said in today’s article. “I’m looking forward to the hearing and seeing what they have to say about me. I feel like I’m going to learn a lot about the business side of the game.” The 28-year-old is heading into free agency at the end of this season.

Some other notes from the Senior Circuit…

  • After a disappointing 2020 season, Eric Lauer began 2021 at the Brewers’ alternate training site. “I wasn’t super happy about it,” Lauer told Will Sammon of The Athletic. However, the lefty used the opportunity to do some experimenting, taking some time in a bullpen session to mimic the mechanics of other pitchers, such as Aroldis Chapman and Tim Lincecum. To his surprise and delight, his velocity starting ticking up. That extra gas helped propel Lauer to an excellent bounceback campaign, as he ended up throwing 118 2/3 innings of 3.19 ERA ball last year, with a 23.9% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate. The results are even better in Lauer’s four starts so far this year. Small sample caveats apply, but he has a 1.93 ERA with an incredible 36.6% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate. Brewers fans, or any baseball fan interested in the art of pitching, will want to check out the full piece for more details on Lauer’s tremendous turnaround.
  • Cardinals’ infield prospect Nolan Gorman is off to a tremendous start to his season. The 21-year-old (22 next week) already has 11 home runs through 20 Triple-A games and is hitting .321/.372/.769 overall. That has led to a chorus of voices among fans in St. Louis for him to be called up, especially with a few of the big leaguers struggling. Shortstop Paul DeJong has been under the spotlight for his shortcomings at the plate for a few years now. His overall offensive production has declined in each season of his career, according to wRC+. After a 123 in his rookie year in 2017, he’s put up a 103, 101, 87, 86 and a 55 in 2022 so far. Prior to the 2018 campaign, the club signed DeJong to an extension that runs through 2023. Despite that, he doesn’t have unlimited rope with the organization. “We’re still trying to figure out what we have here with (DeJong), so we’re trying to give him every opportunity possible,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak tells Katie Woo of The Athletic. “If things don’t change trajectory or direction, then ultimately we’re probably going to have to do something different. Nolan would get more of a maj0r-league opportunity at that point. I think we have to remind ourselves that we’re a month into the season; we’ve had an odd first couple of weeks with weather and obviously a truncated spring training. You’re seeing a lot of offensive stats down in general in this league, so we want to remain patient.” The plan to merely switch Gorman in for DeJong is complicated, however, by the fact that the Cardinals are an organization that values defense so highly. As noted in the piece, Gorman only recently switched from being a primary third baseman to playing second base, as he’s blocked at third by Nolan Arenado. Bringing Gorman up to man the keystone would involve sliding Tommy Edman over to shortstop, a position where he only has 17 games of MLB experience. For the time being, it seems Cardinals’ fans yearning for Gorman’s promotion will have to keep waiting.
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Cardinals Notes: Hicks, Reyes, Designated Hitter, Shortstop, DeJong,

By Anthony Franco | March 11, 2022 at 11:04pm CDT

The Cardinals have made one relatively minor move since the lockout was lifted, signing reliever Drew VerHagen to a two-year deal. He steps into a bullpen that also features Giovanny Gallegos, Ryan Helsley and T.J. McFarland and seems as if it’ll include flamethrowing righties Alex Reyes and Jordan Hicks.

St. Louis brass has floated the idea of each of Reyes and Hicks lengthening out into rotation roles over the offseason. Yet president of baseball operations John Mozeliak cast some doubt on that possibility when speaking with reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) yesterday.

“I do think getting Alex and Jordan stretched is going to be much more challenging than in a normal time,” Mozeliak said in reference to the ban on staff members from communicating with players on their 40-man rosters between December 2 and March 10. While he didn’t specifically rule a rotation conversion out, that prospect always seemed a bit of a reach — particularly with regards to Hicks. Hicks pitched only ten innings in 2021, as he went on the injured list in early May with elbow inflammation that proved season-ending. That came on the heels of a June 2019 Tommy John surgery that had wiped out his prior season and a half, so building him towards a starter’s workload would’ve been a challenge even had there not been a work stoppage.

Reyes logged a full season in 2021, tossing 72 1/3 frames over 69 appearances. That marks almost exactly the same amount of work Reyes took on at the major league level from 2016-20 combined, as he also required a Tommy John procedure (in February 2017, in his case). He struggled quite a bit in the second half, and his 16.4% walk rate was higher than that of any starting pitcher last year. Between those innings and strike-throwing concerns, Reyes might also have had trouble cracking a starting rotation that currently projects to include Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty, Steven Matz, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas.

Mozeliak also addressed the position player mix, suggesting the club might look externally for help in handling the designated hitter spot now available for National League teams (Jones link). He suggested that internal options like Lars Nootbaar or Juan Yepez could be considered for that role but noted there may be “short term solutions” available on the market. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported during the lockout that former Pirates infielder Colin Moran was of interest to the Cards, presumably as an option for such a role.

One position at which it doesn’t seem the Cardinals will consider outside help is shortstop. Speaking with Dani Wexelman of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this afternoon (Twitter link), Mozeliak downplayed the possibility of upgrading there. “I don’t think so,” he replied when asked if they’d acquire another shortstop. “We met with Paul (DeJong) prior to the lockout. We told him we thought he could be our shortstop. … Obviously, there’s going to be some competition in this camp with somebody like Edmundo Sosa, but in terms of going outside of that, I don’t think that makes a whole lot of sense for us.”

That’s not a surprise, as reports have increasingly suggested the Cardinals seem confident in DeJong’s ability to bounce back from a second straight down year at the plate. He rates highly in the eyes of public defensive metrics, and last year’s career-best barrel rate suggests he can continue to at least bring some power to the table offensively. St. Louis was mentioned earlier in the offseason as a speculative fit for star free agents like Carlos Correa or Trevor Story, but Mozeliak’s comments seem to close the book on the chances they make a run at either player.

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Notes St. Louis Cardinals Alex Reyes Edmundo Sosa Jordan Hicks Paul DeJong

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Cardinals Didn’t Actively Pursue Free Agent Shortstop Help Before The Lockout

By Anthony Franco | January 20, 2022 at 7:42pm CDT

The Cardinals have entered each of the past four seasons with Paul DeJong as the Opening Day shortstop. He’d earned the starting nod in 2018 after hitting .285/.325/.532 across 443 plate appearances as a rookie the year prior. DeJong’s next two seasons weren’t quite as strong, but he still combined slightly above-average offense with highly-regarded glovework.

Over the last two years, though, DeJong’s production at the dish has tailed off. Going back to the start of 2020, he’s just a .213/.295/.378 hitter over 576 trips to the plate. That led to a fall down the batting order and eventually, a reduction in playing time. Edmundo Sosa took the lion’s share of at-bats in the season’s final month, and erstwhile skipper Mike Shildt turned to Sosa in a must-win Wild Card game.

With how the second half of the season played out, it seemed like DeJong could wind up as a trade candidate this winter. The free agent shortstop class was loaded with stars, and the Cardinals don’t have many obvious areas of need on the position player side. Yet there was no indication St. Louis made much effort to move DeJong in the early stages of the offseason, and Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch now writes that the Cardinals “were not active in discussions with any player in this marquee class of free-agent shortstops” prior to the lockout.

While it’s possible the team ignites free agent discussions after the transactions freeze — Carlos Correa and Trevor Story remain available — it seems likelier shortstop will be DeJong’s job to lose. Not only was he not the subject of any trade rumors of note, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak and general manager Mike Girsch gave DeJong a public vote of confidence at November’s GM Meetings. According to Goold, Cardinals executives also privately expressed confidence in DeJong’s ability to right the ship and reclaim the shortstop job in 2022. (Those conversations also occurred before the lockout, which includes a prohibition on contact between team staff and players on the 40-man roster).

DeJong’s contact rate and overall average exit velocity have each dipped over the past couple seasons. Yet he actually barreled balls up at a career-best 10.6% clip last year, and his exit velocity on balls hit in the air hasn’t meaningfully changed. That provides some reason for optimism DeJong’s offensive production can improve, particularly if last season’s .212 batting average on balls in play regresses closer to his .282 career mark. The 28-year-old isn’t merely resting on his laurels awaiting better batted ball fortune, however, as he chats with Goold about changes he’s made to his offseason training routine.

Regardless of whether he rebounds offensively, DeJong should be a key part of a high-end defensive infield. He’s coming off a season regarded highly by both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average, and DRS has pegged DeJong as a plus gloveman throughout his career. Sosa remains on hand as a potential fallback option, coming off a nice .271/.346/.389 showing. DeJong is guaranteed around $6.167MM next season and is controllable through 2025 under the terms of the contract extension he signed four seasons ago.

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Trade Candidate: Paul DeJong

By Anthony Franco | October 23, 2021 at 8:00pm CDT

One of the biggest decisions for the Cardinals this winter is how to handle the shortstop position. That hasn’t been the case in a while. Paul DeJong had a great rookie season in 2017, and he’s been the Cards’ Opening Day shortstop for each of the four seasons since.

Going into 2022, it no longer seems to be DeJong’s job. That rookie season was propped up by a .349 batting average on balls in play that DeJong never seemed likely to sustain, but he was a solid hitter over the next couple years. Coupled with high-end defensive metrics, he was still a highly valuable player. DeJong’s bat has taken another step down over the last two years, though, and that seemingly puts his future with the organization in question.

Since the start of 2020, DeJong has tallied 576 plate appearances, nearly the equivalent of a typical season. He’s hit just .213/.295/.378, a mark that makes him fourteen percentage points below the league average by measure of wRC+. DeJong still brings some power upside, popping 22 home runs with a .165 ISO (slugging minus batting average) that’s right around average. He has struck out in an elevated 26.6% of his trips to the plate, though. Paired with a very low .254 BABIP, that has led DeJong to post one of the lower batting averages and on-base marks among regular players.

DeJong is still generally effective at barreling balls up, but he’s also had far too many wasted plate appearances. He’s an extreme fly ball hitter, which can be a bit of a double-edged sword. Hitting the ball in the air gives a player plenty of opportunities to do damage, but weakly hit fly balls aren’t especially useful. DeJong has had his share of softly hit balls in the air, with a 90.9 MPH average exit velocity on air balls that ranks in the 42nd percentile leaguewide (minimum 1000 pitches seen). That middle-of-the-road batted ball quality has come as DeJong’s contact rate has dropped a few percentage points over the past two seasons, falling from roughly league average to a bit below.

While DeJong hasn’t been an especially productive hitter in recent seasons, he hasn’t been without value. Defensive metrics have still pegged him as a solid or better defender. Over the past two seasons, DeJong has rated as six runs above average at shortstop by DRS, while Statcast has him at two plays above average. Even average play at shortstop is valuable, and DeJong’s probably at least a tick above par defensively.

Because of that defensive acumen, DeJong has been valued at around two wins above replacement since the start of 2020 by both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. That’s roughly league average for the amount he has played. So even with his bat going backwards, DeJong’s still a capable player who is just two years removed from an All-Star berth. He’d be an upgrade over some teams’ current shortstop situations.

Speculatively speaking, the Yankees, Phillies, Nationals, Angels, Rangers, A’s, Astros, Tigers and Twins are among the teams who might be in the shortstop market this winter. With a star-studded crop of free agent shortstops, DeJong won’t be priority number one for any of those clubs. They can’t all land high-end free agent options, though, and some could view DeJong as a reasonable fallback option.

In March 2018, DeJong and the Cardinals agreed on a contract extension, the guaranteed portion of which runs through 2023. He’ll make $6MM next season and $9MM the following year, and he’s guaranteed at least a $2MM buyout on a 2024 club option valued at $12.5MM. The contract also contains another club option covering 2025. Given DeJong’s offensive struggles the past couple seasons, that deal no longer looks like a massive bargain. But it’s certainly not an outlandish detriment to a team’s finances either, and the two options give a potential acquiring team some upside if DeJong manages to turn things around at the dish.

That all leads to an interesting offseason decision for the St. Louis front office. DeJong’s 2022 salary isn’t outlandish, but they might want to look into the top shortstops available themselves. Alternatively, they could trade DeJong and rely on the player who became the de facto shortstop down the stretch this past season: Edmundo Sosa.

Sosa has long been viewed by public prospect evaluators as a future glove-first utilityman. He outperformed those expectations as a rookie, though, hitting .271/.346/.389 with six homers in 326 plate appearances. Sosa didn’t walk or hit for much power, but his aggressive approach helped keep his strikeouts low as well.

Turning shortstop over to Sosa based on half a season’s worth of work would be a risk, but he did enough down the stretch to seemingly surpass DeJong on the organizational depth chart. It’d be defensible to give Sosa a chance to seize the job, particularly given this regime’s solid track record in developing position players who overperform their general prospect expectations.

How to handle the shortstop position going into 2022 is a key question for president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, GM Mike Girsch and the rest of the front office. That’s unfamiliar territory in St. Louis, but DeJong’s recent drop-off at the dish makes it possible he could wind up on the move in the coming months.

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MLBTR Originals St. Louis Cardinals Trade Candidate Edmundo Sosa Paul DeJong

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Cardinals Place Justin Miller On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | September 25, 2021 at 12:09pm CDT

The Cardinals have placed right-handed pitcher Justin Miller on the injured list with an elbow strain, per a team announcement. Fellow righty Jake Woodford, who was optioned after yesterday’s double-header, has been recalled in a corresponding move.

The extent of Miller’s injury is not known at this time, though an elbow injury is always concerning for a pitcher. This will be his second trip to the IL this year, as he hit the shelf in August with right ulnar nerve irritation. The 34-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Nationals in July and has thrown 19 innings this year between the two clubs. Miller had a bloated ERA of 15.00 over a tiny three-inning sample with Washington but fared much better after swapping jerseys. In 16 innings with the Cardinals, he has an ERA of 4.50. With less than ten days remaining in the regular season, and the pitching staff recently being bolstered by the returns of Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson, it seems possible that Miller won’t return for the club this year. Though if he can return to health and the Cards go on a lengthy playoff run, they could circle back to him in the event of other injuries. He can be retained this offseason via arbitration but seems likely to be non-tendered.

The one bit of good news for the Cardinals in all this pertains to Edmundo Sosa. The shortstop was hit on the wrist by a pitch yesterday and immediately left the game. Manager Mike Shildt later told reporters, including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, that they couldn’t find evidence of a fracture and that Sosa would miss just a few days. The fact that he was not placed on the IL today suggests that estimate holds and that they don’t expect his absence to stretch into the postseason. The 25-year-old has been a pleasant surprise for the club this season, hitting .274/.348/.395. That adds up to a wRC+ of 106, his highest such mark at any level since a rookie ball stint back in 2017. Combined with quality defense, he’s been worth 1.8 wins above replacement this season, according to FanGraphs. The Cardinals can probably afford to be somewhat cautious with his recovery, given that they’re currently on an incredible 14-game winning streak, which has launched them into the final NL Wild Card spot, with a five-game cushion between them and their nearest competitors, the Phillies.

Paul DeJong should slot into short in Sosa’s place, for the time being. The 28-year-old’s bat has slipped a bit in recent years. From 2017 to 2019, he slashed .251/.318/.467, for a wRC+ of 108. But over 2020 and 2021, he’s hitting just .215/.299/.378, wRC+ of 88. Though thanks to good defensive numbers, he’s still been worth 2.1 fWAR in that time. DeJong is under contract through 2023, with a pair of club options for 2024 and 2025. The emergence of Sosa, who will have five years of control after this one, could give the club a surplus from which to trade. But Sosa has also played some second and third base this season, perhaps allowing the Cards to keep both and maintain flexibility.

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