4:01PM: The trade has been officially announced, and the Royals have designated righty John McMillon for assignment to create roster space for DeJong. McMillon made his MLB debut with four innings of 2.25 ERA ball with K.C. in 2023, but has struggled in posting a 6.53 ERA across 30 1/3 innings with Triple-A Omaha this year.
2:51PM: The Royals have bolstered their infield depth by acquiring shortstop Paul DeJong from the White Sox, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via X). Right-handed pitching prospect Jarold Rosado is headed to the Sox in return, as per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. The deal will become official after a medical review. Since the Royals and White Sox are playing each other tonight in Chicago, DeJong might be able to make a quick debut for his new club against his old club.
In a dismal White Sox season, DeJong has been a relatively bright spot, hitting .228/.275/.430 with a team-leading 18 homers in 363 plate appearances. While his 95 wRC+ is still below the league average, it still represents a significant step up from the 73 wRC+ DeJong posted over the 2020-23 seasons, while hitting .200/.273/.352 in 1213 PA for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Giants.
DeJong’s strikeout and walk rates are among the worst in baseball, but he still makes a decent amount of hard contact and can generate power when he does square up. Beyond the power-centric offensive profile, DeJong doesn’t offer much in the field, as his glovework has sharply declined after once being one of the sport’s better defensive shortstops.
While the Royals are more than set already at shortstop with Bobby Witt Jr., DeJong brings some extra pop to a K.C. team that ranks 19th of 30 teams in homers. Witt and Salvador Perez (each with 19 round-trippers) are the only Royals players with more home runs than DeJong, so he could bring some power off the bench, or in a part-time capacity at second or third base.
The right-handed hitting DeJong could pair with the left-handed hitting Michael Massey for a natural platoon at the keystone, or DeJong could get some at-bats ahead of the offensively-struggling Maikel Garcia at third base. DeJong hasn’t played much second base in his career and had never played any third before this season, but another infield position might be the better option given the decline in his shortstop work.
DeJong is a free agent after the season, making him one of the more clear-cut players to be dealt by the rebuilding White Sox. The infielder (who turns 31 later this week) signed a one-year, $1.75MM deal with Chicago last winter, so the remaining $580K or so on his deal represents a pretty small financial burden for Kansas City to assume.
Rosado just turned 22 earlier this month, and the former international signing has a 1.85 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate over 39 relief innings for A-level Columbia this season. Injuries cost Rosado the entire 2022 season and limited him to 10 innings in 2021 and 26 innings last year, but he has looked much sharper and reduced his walk rate significantly in his first healthy pro season.
Royals are on the prowl
for a new stadium. Take notice voters, this backup infielder and a mediocre reliever demonstrate that the Royals aren’t messing around!
You seem fun
You seem funner
He looked terrible at 3B against the Mariners. Too bad he can’t play SS in KC.
I’m not sure he looked terrible there, he’s literally never played there so there’s going to be an adjustment. I think he’ll probably be average defensively now at all 3 positions (3b, ss and 2b), and add some homers that Garcia didn’t do. Not that exciting, but versatile and pop.
NO, he looked terrible.
Sometimes looks can be confirming! Between DeJong and Carpenter they should have to pay the Cardinals some money back ! They cost roughly $45 million combined for three years of this production! The Cardinals could have had a pitching staff! But we had those two guys! .200 with 400 strikeouts a year!
He has played there.
Watch the games!
Um chisox_fan – I have openly admitted on here (and will again) that I am the pathetic Sox fan who not only watches every game, I still look forward to them. So – if that was meant for me, I can only assume I wasn’t clear enough in explaining that I meant he “hadn’t played 3b prior to this year, so while he didn’t look great at 3b it’s not that surprising since there will be an adjustment period.” In either case, pretty harsh on the reply brother! ;0)
DeJong will hit comeback HR and beat the Sox tonight in Chicago!!
Would be so Wsox if that happened.
LOL. I saw one of the games vs. Mariners. He played poorly for sure.
Finally they have their shortstop
Haha
Frazier and hampson weren’t enough trash utility players??
18 HR isn’t what I would call “trash”.
Sox are having a killer deadline. Everyone they brought in to be traded is getting great returns. Chris Getz is looking great as GM
Their trade with Dodgers and Cards was a disaster.
Highly depends on what they were even being offered.
How so they got the best end of the deal.
Getz has been ok at best so far. Time will tell if Getz is a fine GM.
Chris Getz what Chris Wantz.
Shine on you crazy diamond….shine on
the White Sox are seriously going to go 40-122 or something
Losing Dejong isn’t really a big deal. Was a rental and he’s not going to get much back.
He was Sox HR leader with 18!
Gonna miss him.
If the breaks go their way.
They will not reach 40 wins and I have been a White Sox fan go over 60 years. The owner has ruined this organization beyond repair. I hope Reinsdork moves the team to Nashville so we can get an expansion team in Chicago that will be superior to what we have now.
The White Sox had last night’s game won, until Grawful brought in his 2 favorite arsonists to light a fire for the opponent
Royals are ALL in on 2024 lol. Farm’s gonna be cooked in 2 years
Nonsense. Only two of the prospects they’ve traded away were in their Top 30.
Yeah, it’s already not a great system so that’s scary. However, it’s been a long 9 years and I’m happy they’re doing something!
Saved. kept reading articles from various writers this guy might be headed to Boston. Glad someone else bit.
He went 1-3 with an RBI last night against the Royals and they thought “This is our next move”.
They looked at the schedule and saw 3 games against the Pirates in September and 3 against the Reds in August and knew that half of DeJong’s career HRs are against those two teams – and figured he was good for 6 wins down the stretch.
how many hits off of paul skenes?
Hope we get Gavin Cross in return! I know hopeful thinking.
The Royals are rather thin on outfielders in the farm, so no, you can’t have Gavin Cross if it was up to me.
Christopher Cross maybe.
That ship sailed …
Oh the trade winds blow…
Braves or Phillies should have scooped him up. He’s a Met killer. 1.042 OPS against the Mets. His next highest OPS against any team is .858 against the Dodgers.
Paulie D was incredibly likeable as a Cardinal. Im quite sure when the Cardinals offered a large extension he didn’t flinch. “I don’t need to wait, I’ll just sign it.”
But once the league figured you just shouldn’t throw strikes down the middle to him he started to decline really quick. Post Covid he’s been terrible.
I wish him the best. But he’s lucky to still have an MLB job. He’s a good clubhouse guy, and that’s probably why he’s still around.
So what is wrong with Witt?
nothing maybe they want him to play second or third. I don’t know who they’ll be trading. I hope it’s not Massey!
well, at least it’ll be an easy transition. He just needs to pick up his bag walk across the field and go to the visitors clubhouse and introduce himself as I’m the new guy.
Abraham Toro did the same thing 3 years ago.
I hope Getz is getting some preparation H for how many times he’s been used during the trade deadline.
The Perez kid looks intriguing in that deal besides seeing if Vargas can hit playing everyday.
Hou and Balt got burned more. They pivoted to inferior SPs at a much higher than logical price when all they had to do was agree to win-win deal for Fedde instead of getting greedy and condescending w/trash lowball offers.
When Cardinals fans visit Kansas City for the Cardinals-Royals games next week, Paul can get another standing ovation.
Hope Nick Loftin kept his apartment in Omaha.
they don’t cancel apartments when going to the bigs.
Moving Garcia?
He’s going to 2B. Massey isn’t hitting.
Nice lottery ticket picked up by the Sox.
Can he play the OF? That’s where the Royals need some bat productivity.
Chris Getz is getting worked over like a $2 ho in a cartel
Royals confused, the pipeline is supposed to be Royals players go to the White Sox, not the other way around…
De Jong will now proceed to pummel White Sox pitching which isn’t a high bar by any means!
Nice pickup on the young pitcher, I’ll take it.
Looks fair.
He gives the Royals another option at DH
who are the Royals sending to the Sox? Bobby Witt Sr?
Paul DeJong is the biggest winner at trade deadline! You go from 55 games under .500 to leading the last wildcard in one day! Jackpot! He has to be over f’n joyed right now.
Has there ever been this many trades with in the divisions before? From this one. The red Sox got Danny Jansen. The Marlins seem to do this alot too. Just seems like a lot of the trades so far have been inter-divisional trades. If that’s even the right term to use. I know this is a minor trade but still I just noticed quite a few have been like that.
Since Detroits shot at even sniffing the playoffs are gone, I’d like to see the Royals make a long run in the playoffs if they get there, any team in the Central for that matter but especially the Royals, they were pegged to win 70 something games this year, and the Central was considered to be the weakest division in baseball.
Cool, let DeJong forget how many outs there are on another club. My guess is he will do pretty well though. Its hard to maintain concentration playing for Pedro Grifol and his band of inept coaches.
So, when JJ Piccolo said he’s focusing on someone that could play both infield and outfield, he picks up a guy who’s never played outfield. Seems like a Royals move.