The Blue Jays moved quickly in the wake of Bo Bichette’s knee injury last night, acquiring veteran shortstop Paul DeJong and cash from the Cardinals for minor league righty Matt Svanson. The Jays designated outfielder Jordan Luplow for assignment to clear a roster spot for DeJong.
DeJong, who turns 30 tomorrow, has bounced back offensively this year from an increasingly rough three-year period. DeJong has a 96 wRC+ on the season with 13 home runs in 306 plate appearances.
DeJong burst on the scene with a 123 wRC+ for the Cardinals in 2017, hitting 25 home runs and garnering a second place Rookie of the Year finish. In March of the following year, the Cards inked him to a six-year, $26MM extension. That deal includes a $12.5MM club option with a $2MM buyout for 2024, plus a $15MM option with a $1MM buyout for ’25. For the remainder of this season, DeJong is owed about $3MM. According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are covering buyouts and half of DeJong’s remaining salary.
The Blue Jays are set to pay the competitive balance tax this year for the first time in franchise history. Their current CBT payroll appears to be right around the second tier of $253MM, beyond which a 32% tax will be paid.
DeJong’s bat slipped to a league average level in 2018-19, but he still popped 30 home runs, made the All-Star team, and posted a career-best 3.7 WAR in ’19. However, his offense fell further in 2020, and by 2022 Tommy Edman supplanted him as the Cardinals’ primary shortstop by defensive innings played. 2022 was a low point for DeJong, as he was optioned to Triple-A for a period of nearly three months.
This year, DeJong started the season on the IL with a back injury, joining the Cardinals in late April. He was able to regain the team’s starting shortstop job on the strength of a huge couple weeks.
As a defender, DeJong has posted above-average marks in recent years. His Statcast outs above average ranks 21st among qualified shortstops since 2021, similar to Brandon Crawford and Ha-Seong Kim. His defensive runs saved ranks 15th in that time, despite fewer innings than many of those ahead of him.
DeJong might not be the right-handed bat the Blue Jays had been seeking, but assuming he can continue as a league average hitter, he’s likely the best possible shortstop replacement for Bichette that GM Ross Atkins could find on deadline day.
Svanson, 24, was drafted in the 13th round by the Blue Jays in 2021 out of Lehigh University. Though he made some A-ball starts last year, Svanson has worked exclusively in relief this year as he’s made his way to High-A. At that level, he has a 1.23 ERA, 31.3 K% and 9.6 BB%. Svanson has deployed his sinker to get a nifty 56.3% groundball rate in his 29 1/3 innings. He’ll now head to Double-A with his new organization.
Luplow, 29, signed a one-year, $1.4MM deal with the Braves in December of last year. He was designated for assignment in early April and claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays. The Jays had booted Luplow off their 40-man by the end of that month, but he returned in July for three games with the big club. Luplow had a 92 wRC+ in 208 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
GMs Ross Atkins of the Jays and John Mozeliak of the Cardinals have gotten along well in recent weeks, striking separate trades that sent relievers Genesis Cabrera and Jordan Hicks to Toronto. Neither GM expected to be in such a position on deadline day: the Blue Jays adding a shortstop, and the Cardinals acting as a seller. St. Louis has also shipped off Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton, with Jack Flaherty likely on the way out within the next four hours.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network was first to report a deal was close and name the player coming to the Cardinals, while Katie Woo of The Athletic reported the agreement was in place.
Bo Bichette is gonna be out for a while.
You might think that but jays were linked to Dejong long before Bo got injured as they don’t have a starting 2nd basemen next year unless they take Whits 18 million dollar option
I like the prospect that the Cardinals acquired from the Blue Jays. Well, hopefully we can trade now Dylan Carlson and possibly Jack Flaherty. The Padres or maybe the Yankees could be interested in
Carlson. I know the Orioles are interested. We need more pitching prospects lets go. By the way, good luck to Dejong with his new team.
You like a minor league reliever who is 24 and plays high A ball?
You sure are an optimist. Good for you.
Not saying they’re the same but Jordan Hicks made a jump from A+.
They don’t have to trade Carlson, especially now that Edman is locked in at SS and therefore won’t be playing much outfield for the rest of the season. They should only do it if it helps them get some valuable enough controllable MLB-ready pitching.
I think the opposite. If Bo was out for long term, you do nothing, because without his bat they are dead in the water. (The offence wasn’t great with him, without him its downright lame). If Bo is out as a defensive player but can soon return to the lineup, then this is the move you make.
Unless Atkins and co have completely lost their minds (which is a possiblity)
So bad news about Bichette, I guess.
At least Bo got hurt last night and not tonight.
Yeah, in a way it was both fortunate and unfortunate at the same time.
dang it, was hoping the astros would get him.
They don’t need anymore cardinal rejects.
The Cardinals are just getting rejects in return.
Who cares… addition by subtraction.
Lol you must be good at math.
We get cash in return. No one rejects cash.
They can always ask for Canadian Son Tyler O’Neill to be added into deal.
Can’t believe it’s finally happening… only thing that could make it better is if they also include one of O’Neill, Burleson or Carlson in the deal, to actually get decent value back.
I’m sorry for Bichette and Jays fans on a human level, but extremely grateful as a Cards fan.
DeJong has had a pretty nice bounce back year so far. The only reasons to be grateful for trading him are getting something back in return before he hits free agency in a year the team isn’t going anywhere, and clearing up additional playing time for Edman once he returns from the IL (and by extension, likely also more playing time for Gorman). Although, Edman is having a down year to where DeJong has actually outplayed him so far.
I will give you a hearty amen on that!
They should have swung a deal for Tim Anderson.
But likely the White Sox asked for too much.
DeJong is better than Anderson this year and probably even going forward… Anderson is a mess.
They really going to hate when Tim is in the World Series and Blue Jays ain’t.
Anderson sucks!! Beyond thankful jays didn’t get him, he sucks, has sucked for awhile, and a change of scenery isn’t going to help
Cabrera has pitched 5 innings for the Jays—one hit, zero runs, zero walks. That’s a good reject to have, so far.
Clearly they haven’t been watching him play this year. He started strong, but .209/.275/.370 over his last 258 PA, dating back to early May.
Doesn’t matter, that’s probably better than they expect out of their minor league or bench options currently if Bichette is out for an extended period.
Not sure that’s true… Giving up someone to get a player who hits like Espinal might be a mistake. DeJong is better defensively for sure, so there’s that.
Yeah, but they need a natural SS to fill in for Bichette
Dejong is really good defensively. I think he’s like top 95% in OAA
Delete this! They might still change their mind!
Well, the off-season message was that they were going to improve the defense. This certainly helps.
The Jays should see if they can get a discount by buying in bulk.
jag
I called it on Twitter. Hot takes latest post
What is this “Twitter”?
He Xed it on X.
OIC. F X
Smart move for the Jays. Won’t cost an arm and leg and they can choose to let him go or keep him around for depth after the season. Strong defense is your friend in fall ball.
Well, it did cost them an arm!
And a leg last night, unfortunately
Not sure that this guy is an upgrade on Espinal if he was given full playing time.
Between his bad hitting and his poor defense, Espinal has been worth only 0.2 bWAR and -0.1 fWAR so far this season. In comparison, DeJong is a big upgrade both offensively and defensively.
This is not a fun trade this is a sad trade
Masyn Winn time?
Probably but I’m not sure I would bring him into this mess. Who are we gonna play with Edman and Donavan hurt? Motter? That’s pretty scary.
Edman will be back soon, so Edman at SS and Gorman at 2B. Motter can fill in until then.
Edman is back tonight, but I wouldn’t wait too long on Wynn. Let him come up and get a taste this season.
No, it’s still too early to bring up Winn when they can’t give him full-time PAs.
There is always Tim Anderson.
Yes, TA has been nearly a .400 BA hitter since the ASG.
For a guy who’s 4% less capable of creating runs? Why?
He’s also very good defensively. Overall, that makes him a slightly above-average player at worst.
At least he won’t cost too much prospect wise. St. Louis will probably ask for more seeing the desperation the Jays might have.
Svanson has a big arm, but he’s a 24-year-old reliever in A+.
Hopefully, the Cardinals at least send him to Springfield.
He’s going to require a 40-man spot over the off-season too.
He has been assigned to Springfield.
I’m not a GM, unlike many commenters here.
So please inform: Does “advanced talks” mean they are using adjectives and adverbs, or even metaphors?
Mozeliak: “Paul DeJong will be way awesome for you. He’s totally worth lots of prospect return or even that totally slumping Guerrero kid. Good ol’ Paulie will be your next Tony Fernandez.”
This about October baseball and rosters that win in October. This is 100% the right move for TOR, the hard trade deadline rules now in MLB necessitate they have coverage for such an important position as SS.
Smart move for the Jays. Way better then Tim Anderson.
Come on man. Better than Tim Anderson? Tim was once called Jackie. You don’t get better then that.
Wrong! TA much better and also a cheap contract for 2024. TA has his legs back and is tearing the cover off the ball again!
“Tearing the cover off the ball” means he just hit his first homer in about a year.
@#1WhiteSoxFan
“Jackie” has a wRC+ of 60. What exactly is covering the ball?
Just star Espinal at shortstop, DeJong isn’t a huge upgrade plus the salary could be a burden unless the Cardinals eat some of it.
The salary is the reason he didn’t cost barely anything in prospects. He’s a good player but the Cardinals have Winn and DeJongs time was over here.
Between his bad hitting and his poor defense, Espinal has been worth only 0.2 bWAR and -0.1 fWAR so far this season. In comparison, DeJong is a big upgrade both offensively and defensively.
Hopefully this doesn’t mean Bo is out for a long time. He is a fun player to watch.
StL is loving the desperation here from the blue jays. I bet they get a decent return
Depends what they give up but it doesnt seem really necessary for a team with Espinal already on the roster. Dejong is slightly better hitter, and better defender this year, but Espinal has a track record of equal or slightly better. Can call up Barger or any “emergency SS” to sit on the bench in case of injury to Espinal for free.
Wrong, DeJong is a significantly better hitter and a much better defender this season! Espinal is struggling just to keep his value above replacement level! His track record means little compared to his current terrible level of performance.
Cardinals selling the farm for nobodies. You love to see it.
Selling the farm? How so?
It’s just an expression meaning, liquidating assets. I don’t mean they’re selling their MLB farm system.
So far most that have been following have been excited about the prospect return aside for those with unrealistic expectations. Any return is a positive for DeJong. They were surely going to decline his option next year, and now there’s a spot for Winn. It’s a positive move for us, and apparently necessary insurance for the Blue Jays.
Those “assets” were already boxed up on the loading dock for elsewhere. I can almost guarantee one of those “nobodies” is going to strike out a below average cub that replaces Bellinger in 2024 at some point.
“Selling the farm” means that a team is depleting their minor league assets to a large degree. If anything, the Cardinals are buying the farm.
More like selling nobodies for the farm.
I mean he’s not been great this year, but he started pretty hot and he’s been a Cardinals fan favorite for a long time.
So I don’t think I’d call him a nobody.
With that option the jays must see him as a rental , unless Bo is out till mid 2024.
A good deal for the Jays. Gave up nothing. Still need an OF bat.
Yes DeJong basically just cost the Bays money. And that’s fine Cardinals didn’t want to pay the 2 million buyout for him.
Knowing him and that park the Jays play in I think he’s gonna do really well there. DeJong is a fly ball hitter.
Not sure I agree with that. Look at the kid’s numbers. Pretty darn good stats.
24 years old at A ball.
The cardinals are covering the buyout
Lehigh grad!
Good luck to Paul DeJong who handled himself with class, never blamed others, and represented the Cardinals well (and made up a very bright keystone with a Chemistry degree along with Tommy Edman and his analytics degree from Stanford)
Good luck to Paul DeJong who handled himself with class, never blamed others, and represented the Cardinals well (and made up a very bright keystone with a Chemistry degree along with Tommy Edman and his analytics degree from Stanford).
as a cardinals fan, 3 of the 5 guys i’ve always complained about for the past couple of years are gone!! finally!! all to the same team! lol
Well, don’t laugh until you cry if Toronto makes a good run out of it.
Finally Dejong gets a change of scenery and I bet he lights it up! When he gets away from the Cardinals computer and starts seeing the ball and just hitting it again, he will be a great addition!
Not sure this took until now. This was pretty much done as soon as bichette went down. Probably needed to wait for more toner to arrive.
The Springfield Cardinals are going for it in 2024!
Seemed like the most logical choice
Does Edman come off the IL or does Winn get called up?
Edman is expected in the lineup tonight
Isn’t he actually in AA this year? His numbers there are pretty darn good. Kid has good size, good numbers. On paper I like the return.
He’s in A ball, but the Cardinals are sending him to Double A Springfield.
Better off inserting a pylon in the batters box.
Pyling it on a bit, eh?
Lol for a 24 yr old still at A ball. The cardinals should have traded Nolan and Goldschmidt.
Can we trade you? Obviously the return won’t be much but I’m willing to accept any low ball offers.
Chaim, take some notes. Sale was last fully healthy three Presidents ago. We’ve needed starting pitching since then. Bo Bichette is hurt for about 20 minutes and the Blue Jays already have a Plan-B
A for Toronto. SS gets hurt and you pick up a solid replacement for a A ball reliever. Doesn’t get any easier or cheaper.
C for STL. They found a taker and got a solid reliever. Didn’t get a starter or better arm. Just fair solid what you expect return.
I’d give a B for STL, they dumped salary + save on the buyout. Unless they sent cash as well, then I’d give a C.
I go c because of that. Exactly what I expected. They would have to do something out of the ordinary for me to give a B or A.
It’s a win win trade. No loser. Just other teams may have panicked and gave up a starter or sent Cards some cash.
Unless the front office is insane I think this deal means Bo will be out not too long.
This is my reasoning: BJ’s offence isn’t that great, without Bo, their best bat, they are done, no point in making any moves. But if Bo can return (in a DH roll) fairly soon then they make this move.
It’s how I see it anyways.
I think they misspelled Tim Anderson. Jays got Tim Anderson right.
Unlike a lot of Cardinal fans, I am sorry to see DeJong go. He has been a really good defensive player since he got there. The offense has been very inconsistent, but most fans don’t put enough emphasis on infield defense – you need to be able to catch the ball, especially with pitchers who throw a lot of ground balls. And he did that especially well.
Now get whatever you can for Flaherty. Whatever you get is better than watching him walk for nothing.
describing 29 year-old dejong as a veteran makes me feel old
Just wait.
If Dejong is a an upgrade for SS, then when Bo comes back maybe it’s time to move him to 2nd base like the Jays spoke of a few years ago as it might be a better fit for his arm and range of motion. That would give the Jays a pretty stellar infield lineup. Chapman, Dejong, Bichette and Vladdy! Doesn’t get much better than that!!!
My two cents……