I fully commend DeJong for trying something new and for his willingness to put in the work to change. I cant do normal things right now, so it's definitely not playable. It was already a bit of a goofy night. While his crisp defense bought him an extended leash to figure things out at the plate, by Tuesday morning the organization had come to the decision to send DeJong to the minors. He gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings to the Cubs on April 11 and allowed four runs across six innings against the Brewers on April 17. "Tough inning. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Despite all those accolades that the broadcasters like to remind us of, DeJong has not been a good Major League hitter since his first few months in the Majors. On Twitter, Cardinals insider Jeff Jones provided an update on where things stand and revealed what manager Oli Marmol had to say about the matter. Since hes been here, hes put together quality at-bats. He busted out quickly and then tanked again. His second and third at-bats resulted in bloop singles at 75.7 and 69.5 mph, respectively. May 11, 2022 9:18 am. His power never returned to his rookie form and his poor contact ability tanked his BABIP. Back from IL, Paul DeJong starts at shortstop as Cardinals close series vs. Mariners: First Pitch. Though DeJong has amassed a 0.5 bWAR on the year, he was hitting just .177 with a .648 OPS and seven homers when he went on the IL. In the process, hes outpitched Hudson considerably. In his return to the lineup, DeJong will hit ahead of rookie Jordan Walker, who got a day off on Saturday and is batting .271 with 11 RBIs in 19 games to start his MLB career. ST. LOUIS After going 0-3 against the San Francisco Giants May 8 of this season, Paul DeJong's future as a Cardinal looked murky at best. But that start ended with him allowing a homer, double, and a walk to the last three batters he faced to open up the seventh. This doesnt mean the Cardinals will not call up Gorman. Depending on the quality of that player, the Cardinals would have at best broken even and likely would have had to add payroll to make the trade and cover their butts positionally. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. Curt is a massive fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and MLB. Remove a leg kick. The Cardinals are 3-6 through their first nine games. All while providing solid-to-good defense himself? His 29.1 percent strikeout rate was in the 17th percentile and his hard-hit percentage (35.8) and barrel percentage (5.7) both ranked in the 30th percentile. The club needs a backup shortstop who can spell Edman against some righties without sacrificing much defense for a contact-oriented pitching staff. . If Sosa doesnt seize the opportunity, Edman may be forced to slot over to shortstop and refine his skills on the fly. Thats not asking that much of him. (, Cardinals send prized prospect Jordan Walker to Class AAA in curious series of moves, Rudderless ship of chaos: St. Louis judge advances Kim Gardner contempt case, What Oliver Marmols gamble in ninth vs. LA reveals about managing to spark Cardinals, How sending Jordan Walker to Class AAA is a bet clarity can correct muddled outfield: Cardinals Extra, Messenger: Kim Gardner drives the judicial bus over her employees and into the ditch, A closer on ice. And listening carefully. His homerun per flyball rate was 23.9% a high rate built on offense-oriented minor league ballparks and developing pitchers with sketchy command. Evaluating Paul DeJong's future with the St. Louis Cardinals There was a problem saving your notification. Thats not nearly enough time to accurately evaluate any change in DeJongs performance or potential. Rather than keep trying to run him out there and hope for a different outcome, the reality is I think hes more comfortable going down and being able to get his work in and try to get himself where hes more than a productive member in this lineup, something that hes confident in., Mozeliak indicated there is no set timetable for when DeJong could return, noting only that he handled the conversation like a pro., (DeJong) understood, Mozeliak said. Next. Its hard for me to say that anything worked. His 2024 team also has a club option on him for 2025 worth $15 million. His setback will require at least a week of rehab, meaning DeJong will all but surely start the season on the injured list. The adjustment wasnt coming to fruition in the actual games. DeJong, who has been the clubs starting shortstop since 2017 and is signed through 2023 on a six-year, $26 million contract, was 10-for-77 with a meager .417 OPS through 24 games. It could be that Edman -- who returned to camp on Wednesday when South Korea did not advance out of WBC pool play -- returns at shortstop before DeJong takes the field. That move is expected to come late Saturday night or before Sundays game. His fast start in his return from the minors is reminiscent of 2022 when, following a nearly three-month-long demotion due to poor performance, DeJong cranked homers in consecutive days and went on a . They locked up their guy, hoping and believing that he would at least be an above-average hitter and they had faith they could teach him how to play the position defensively. He is the winner of the 2019 All-Star award. With Gorman now in the majors, there is simply no room for DeJong. That K rate is your soapbox. In that start, Flaherty retired 10 consecutive batters from the second through the fifth innings. As for DeJong, it could be next week before he returns. We have even seen batters try to switch sides. What Holmes has been most of the season was not what he was Friday night. An outfield in flux. ". Cardinals Option Paul DeJong To Triple-A, Select Kramer Robertson He and Tommy Edman were also taking reps at shortstop before batting practice. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER. Generally speaking, a player that has been what hes been for a few thousand plate appearances is far more likely to remain what hes been than become something else. Its not for lack of familiarity, Marmol explained. Those are never easy conversations, Marmol said. Nolan Arenado (infield single) was on second base, Tyler ONeill (walk) was on first. However, hes been unable to carry over the momentum from that moment because of multiple injuries. DeJong, 28, has a murky future with the Cardinals after the season. In the 2022 MLB season, the one-time All-Star hit just .157 to go with a .245 OBP and .285 SLG. Can we get him at-bats here? Marmol asked hypothetically. Despite his immediate impact on the Cardinals, its probably going to take some more time before he finds a solid role on the team, according to Cardinals outfielder Katie Woo. He gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings to the Cubs on April 11 and allowed four runs across six innings against the Brewers on April 17. I still believe in Tommy Edmans defense. PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- In a perfect world, Paul DeJong would have been in the batters box and facing Mets superstar pitcher Justin Verlander on Wednesday while using his newly designed minimal-stride approach to show the Cardinals that he can again be a useful hitter. All-Star shortstop Paul DeJong apologized to Cardinals fans for his minor-league demotion, vowing to come back "stronger than ever" when he returns from Triple-A Memphis. Mozeliak said the club made the decision to promote DeJong on Friday afternoon, but the logistics of joining the Cardinals in Seattle during their 10-game road trip complicated matters a bit. DeJong swung the bat well enough at Triple-A to get back to St. Louis, where he had home runs in his first two games and drove in the winning run with a double against the Yankees a few days later. Yes, he has a 118 wRC+. His pull percentage was the highest of his career at any level at 63.6%. He has 1967 plate appearances of 92 wRC+ since his rookie season. St. Louis-L.A. Dodgers Runs His flyball rate soared and he began to center his offensive approach around the one thing he could do well: drive the ball out of ballparks. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Infielder who was a fourth round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2015 MLB Draft. He saw fewer and fewer pitches in the zone. Unsubscribe at any time. With two on and two out in the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees held a one-run lead. FRANKIE MONTAS TRADE GRADES: How did Yanks, A's fare? Its a small sample size, of course, but its an encouraging start since it is something he struggled with in the minors. I knew if I did my job down there, I would get a chance back up here. The veteran shortstop rejoined the team on its taxi squad Friday in the nation's capital, following a 2 1/2-month demotion to Triple-A Memphis. Even though the past can provide hints and suggestions as to what might happen, the past does not absolutely dictate the future. He will see more balls land in good places if he can turn on them than if he tries to drive them with pop the other direction. All indications are that he worked in the offseason to improve, simplify his batting approach, and try to get himself back to his former production levels. What to do about Paul DeJong - Viva El Birdos He returned in dramatic fashion on Sunday afternoon, batting 7th and playing shortstop to give Tommy Edman a needed day off. And, yeah, he wears a mask. Clay Holmes was on the mound for the visitors. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. DeJong smashed it the other way, and the ball rattled around in the right-field corner. Paul DeJong knows why he is back in the minors - KSDK He finally had one hiccup outing but cruised into the break with a 1.31 ERA. (Last updated: April 21), RHP Wilking Rodriguez (shoulder): Rodriguez began a rehab assignment on Thursday with Class AAA Memphis where he pitched a scoreless inning of relief and struck out one batter. This was dubbed a critical spring for DeJong, coming off a season in which the 2019 All-Star hit .157 and spent more than two months at Triple-A Memphis. Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MA/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OH/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. If you don't, you might want to follow his lead. Ryan Fagan, the national MLB writer for The Sporting News, has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2016. He homered in the second game of the year, and then only had two extra-base hits both doubles the rest of the month. If he simplified his approach to get the barrel to the ball quicker, then why did he whiff so often on minor league pitches early this season? The . He had clubbed just three doubles and one home run. The veteran infielder has recorded multiple hits in three of his five games this season and is slashing .471/.471/.941 through 21 plate appearances. The righty is expected to throw around 75 pitches in the outing. Paul DeJong is looking to bounce back in 2023. You would be hard-pressed to find two players following more divergent paths in the 2022 season. Its something that we the last couple of days have really been agonizing over, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said from the Cardinals dugout on Tuesday. Paul DeJong was one of three St. Louis Cardinals players who began the 2023 season on the injured list. dark. Is This Time Different for Paul DeJong? - Viva El Birdos I know things can change. Maybe we should have expected the unexpected at the end of this game. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Andrew Knizner will be Flahertys batterymate as Willson Contreras is slotted into his regular five spot in the lineup as the Cardinals designated hitter. When the St. Louis Cardinals optioned Paul DeJong to Triple-A Memphis, the domino effect immediately followed. Juan Yepez, who looks to be on the outside looking in in terms of the outfield, remains under consideration for a pinch-hit role as well. But we passed exciting up a long time ago. I feel like collectively, as an organization, we were positive and patient through that process. See terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. SEATTLE -- Shortstop Paul DeJong, whose career has been marred by shocking struggles much of the past three seasons, is headed back to the Cardinals and could be activated as soon as Sunday, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Saturday. Over his four starts this season, Flexen has allowed 22 hits and 15 runs in 17 1/3 innings. Maybe they still loved hope as a strategy? Thats not $9M former All-Star shortstop levels of production. He was optioned to Triple A last May after hitting .130 over the first 24 games of the year. I do think other teams had some interest; he could have been moved. The at-bats just looked the same, he explained. Youre never looking at rehabs solely on performance, but he has been playing well, Mozeliak said. Cardinals Paul DeJong avoids . They will change a bat. Instead, DeJong has spent the spring hampered by minor injuries. In May, Holmes did not allow a single run. In 14 innings, he surrendered just eight hits while striking out 15. Void in ONT. What made it noteworthy was that it was DeJong's 9th home run in the last 12 games. He has impressed the club with his development of a new slider this spring and has had excellent results in Grapefruit League play, pitching to a 2.04 ERA with an 18/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 17 2/3 innings. Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong strikes out with two men on base to end the seventh inning against the Padres on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022 at Petco Park in San Diego. Cardinals' Paul DeJong has something to say about navigating the Its about sticking with things moment to moment. Weve seen BABIP-fueled power surges from him before. In a move long overduethough jarring, nonethelessthe Cardinals demoted Paul DeJong, optioning the shortstop to Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday. Have you recovered from your injury? It's more just execution, consistency and just fine-tuning stuff.". It was going to be a move where he went down. Heres a simple rule that Ive followed in player analysis: players dont change later in their careers. WASHINGTON -- Paul DeJong is back with the Cardinals, though not officially, yet. He is also passionate about music, cats, and South Park. I think the ability to go down there and have a reset is important, but hes going to have to actually make physical change so that the result looks different.. Given his recent struggles in previous years, there may not be a clear path back for the former slugger. Katie Woo is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the St. Louis Cardinals. By the end of April, he was batting just .137. Catchers once in a lifetime lunge saves Cardinals, The world watches (and makes donations) as St. Louis bald eagle raises eaglet from a rock, Governor threatens to keep Missouri lawmakers in session over transgender rules, Barat Academy in Chesterfield to close after years of financial troubles, Four young people die in Old Monroe head-on crash, Court records online include private information for thousands of Missouri residents, Archdiocese releases third draft of proposed changes to St. Louis parishes. His highest HR/FB% in the majors 19.8% came during his rookie year. The pitcher with the 1.77 ERA vs. the hitter with the .140 average in 2022. He had an unsustainable .349 BABIP, a well-below average 4.7% walk rate, and a 28% strikeout rate in 17. They all try a lot of things. Wainwright made a rehab appearance on Wednesday with Class AA Springfield and completed three innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Call (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelpline.ma.org (MA), Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). He was sent to Triple-A in 2022 after batting .130 through 24 games into the season. In June, DeJong spent days, then weeks, then the entire month in the minors.