DeJong’s play during ugly St. Louis Cardinals’ season created a shortstop controversy
When St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt wrote Edmundo Sosa into the lineup at shortstop on Thursday night against the Pirates, he explained that he did so because of matchups.
Paul DeJong was previously 0-for-5 with four strikeouts against Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller, and with the team’s offense sputtering on its recent homestand, utilizing Sosa’s on-base skills proved too strong a temptation.
The move paid off, with Sosa blasting a 428-foot home run into right center field and reaching base a total of three times.
It further highlighted, though, the unexpected lineup dilemma which has faced the Cardinals this season and which demonstrates that a position they expected to be long settled is not — at all.
When DeJong agreed to a six-year, $26 million extension during spring training in 2018, it came with the wind at his back of having finished second in 2017’s National League rookie of the year voting. He was 21 percent better than a league average hitter in 2017, as measured by OPS+, and his 25 home runs in 108 games were, conceivably, a tease of what was to come as he unlocked his true power.
Then the league adjusted.
In 2018, the year he signed his deal, DeJong’s OPS+ dipped to 102. In 2019, the year he was an All-Star, he finished at 100 — exactly league average. In a 2020 season in which he was beset by COVID, he posted a meager 87 by that same measure, though allowances were given for the strangeness of the season and the uncertain impacts the disease had on his recovery.
Entering play Friday, his 2021 OPS+ sat at 88, making him 12 percent worse than a league average hitter, and opening the door for Sosa as well as the free agent market.
While Sosa’s stable play has put DeJong’s job in immediate jeopardy, the availability of game-changing shortstops on the free agent market changes the club’s long-term outlook.
Javier Báez, Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien and Trevor Story are all set for availability this winter, with lower tier options like Freddy Galvis and Miguel Rojas also potentially offering the Cardinals an upgrade.
Indeed, as the trade deadline approached, St. Louis approached the Colorado Rockies about the parameters of a trade for Story, which never materialized. The Denver slugger has been enduring one of his worst seasons on a moribund team, but he played for five seasons to Nolan Arenado’s direct left, making him an intriguing option to both improve the offense up the middle as well as placate the franchise’s most important player, who will face an interesting decision regarding whether to opt out of his contract following the 2022 season.
For a Cardinals’ offense which has struggled to gain traction for the duration of the season, shortstop represents the most obvious spot for an upgrade.
Shildt is a strong proponent of Tommy Edman at second base, frequently citing his impressive total of defensive runs saved, including as a near-total non-sequitur on Thursday night from the visitors’ dugout in Pittsburgh.
DeJong’s salary, while team-friendly at the time of signing, jumps from $4.1 million this season to $6.1 million in 2022, and then to $9.1 million in 2023. He then has two years of team options totalling $27.5 million with $3 million in buyouts due if the options aren’t exercised.
For a team that misses out on one of the headline free agents, though, DeJong’s deal could appear to be a value and a consolation prize if the Cardinals decide outside investment is necessary.
In the midst of his struggle to produce, DeJong also frustrated some in the Cardinals front office in July by publicly naming an outside hitting consultant, former Cardinal Ryan Ludwick, to whom he had turned for advice in the midst of a swoon which coincided with loud criticism from the general public of hitting coach Jeff Albert.
His comments were received more harshly than those of Edman, whose recriminations regarding preparedness could arguably be viewed as a criticism of himself rather than of the coaching staff.
From a high-altitude view, DeJong and Sosa appear to be similar offensive players, though a recent hot streak has pushed Sosa’s OPS+ to 102 entering play Friday. Sosa’s on-base plus slugging percentage sits at .716, buoyed by his .348 on base percentage.
DeJong’s OPS is at .674, propped up by a .382 mark in the slugging column — 183 points lower than his rookie season, but directly in line with his disappointing 2020.
Credit is due to Sosa for finding traction and elevating himself from a player who was putting up a fight for a roster spot to one who has shown he can make consistent contributions. Part of that opportunity, however, arrived because the player who was supposed to have a firm grip on Sosa’s best position has instead let that grip slip, introducing questions where the Cardinals previously hoped they’d found an answer.
The two are expected to share time at the position for the remainder of 2021. As ugly losses pile up and the postseason slips further from being a realistic goal, the Cardinals will gently transition to a framework designed more to evaluate their returning pieces for 2022.
Paul DeJong is no longer certain to be among them.
