San Francisco Giants sign Paul DeJong to MLB deal

Aug 22, 2023, 11:20 AM | Updated: 11:21 am

TORONTO, CANADA - AUGUST 11: Paul DeJong #10 of the Toronto Blue Jays at bat during their MLB game ...

(Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Editor & Kings Beat Writer

Although the trade deadline passed three weeks ago, the search for help continues for the San Francisco Giants.

In light of Brandon Crawford’s recent trip to the 10-day injured list, the Giants have signed fellow shorstop Paul DeJong to a Major League deal, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

DeJong, a 30-year-old that was named to the National League All-Star team in 2019 while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, was recently designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays just 18 days after being acquired in a trade deadline deal on August 1st.

Over 94 games this season with the Cardinals and Blue Jays, DeJong has struggled to a .211 batting average while striking out 105 times over 350 at-bats (30% strikeout rate).

According to Nightengale’s report, DeJong is expected to join the Giants in Philadelphia for the team’s series finale against the Phillies.

The Giants have signed Paul DeJong to an MLB deal

The Blue Jays DFA'd DeJong earlier this week

(via @BNightengale) pic.twitter.com/ZlZbYLEvHT

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 22, 2023

Although DeJong holds a .192 batting average since the start of the 2021 regular season, the seven-year veteran still has some pop in his bat.

DeJong has hit 13 home runs and driven in 33 runs in 2023, giving the Giants a low-contact, high-power bat to put in a lineup that has recently struggled to find consistent offense.

San Francisco (65-60) is searching for a spark after falling from the top National League Wild Card spot into the third and final position in the standings. The Giants have lost 11 of 15 games while players like Crawford, Mike Yastrzemski, Mitch Haniger, and Thairo Estrada have dealt with injuries during the summer months.

The move to bring DeJong in is San Francisco’s latest effort to find stability for the shortstop position and add a bat with potential as the Giants navigate a brutal stretch of its schedule that features two straight weeks against National League postseason contenders.

Following his trade from St. Louis to Toronto, DeJong struggled to a .068 batting average (3-for-44 over 13 games) and one RBI with the Blue Jays.

Can San Francisco find success in DeJong and have the shortstop follow the footsteps of fellow reclamation stories like LaMonte Wade Jr. and J.D. Davis?