
The St. Louis Cardinals seemingly found a great shortstop with pop in DeJong, but picking up a veteran for a year or two could allow additional options for DeJong.
The St. Louis Cardinals could be seeking options for third base during the upcoming offseason. Gyorko has done well at third and could remain there but another option at third could be Paul DeJong. This would only happen if the Cardinals found a different shortstop.
One such shortstop facing a failed vesting option is J.J. Hardy. According to MLBTR, Hardy returned this season from the disabled list too late to achieve the required 600 plate appearances to get his $14MM option. Instead, the Orioles can now pay a mere $2MM buyout and are looking to do so.
Hardy is a two-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, and one-time Silver Slugger. These came during his best three seasons shown below:
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | Pos | Awards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | 24 | MIL | NL | 151 | 638 | 592 | 89 | 164 | 30 | 1 | 26 | 80 | 2 | 3 | 40 | 73 | .277 | .323 | .463 | .786 | 101 | 274 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | *6 | AS |
2008 | 25 | MIL | NL | 146 | 629 | 569 | 78 | 161 | 31 | 4 | 24 | 74 | 2 | 1 | 52 | 98 | .283 | .343 | .478 | .821 | 115 | 272 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | *6 | |
2013 | 30 | BAL | AL | 159 | 644 | 601 | 66 | 158 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 76 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 73 | .263 | .306 | .433 | .738 | 99 | 260 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | *6 | AS,GG,SS |
13 Yrs | 1553 | 6284 | 5781 | 714 | 1483 | 289 | 14 | 187 | 685 | 8 | 9 | 410 | 955 | .257 | .306 | .408 | .714 | 90 | 2361 | 156 | 15 | 40 | 38 | 24 | |||||
162 Game Avg. | 162 | 656 | 603 | 74 | 155 | 30 | 1 | 20 | 71 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 100 | .257 | .306 | .408 | .714 | 90 | 246 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | |||||
BAL (7 yrs) | 881 | 3611 | 3366 | 391 | 849 | 166 | 3 | 106 | 382 | 2 | 2 | 193 | 574 | .252 | .293 | .398 | .691 | 87 | 1339 | 89 | 10 | 19 | 23 | 12 | |||||
MIL (5 yrs) | 571 | 2298 | 2075 | 279 | 543 | 104 | 8 | 75 | 265 | 5 | 6 | 189 | 327 | .262 | .323 | .428 | .751 | 95 | 888 | 59 | 5 | 18 | 11 | 11 | |||||
MIN (1 yr) | 101 | 375 | 340 | 44 | 91 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 54 | .268 | .320 | .394 | .714 | 96 | 134 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | |||||
AL (8 yrs) | 982 | 3986 | 3706 | 435 | 940 | 185 | 6 | 112 | 420 | 3 | 3 | 221 | 628 | .254 | .295 | .397 | .693 | 88 | 1473 | 97 | 10 | 22 | 27 | 13 | |||||
NL (5 yrs) | 571 | 2298 | 2075 | 279 | 543 | 104 | 8 | 75 | 265 | 5 | 6 | 189 | 327 | .262 | .323 | .428 | .751 | 95 | 888 | 59 | 5 | 18 | 11 | 11 |
His 2017 numbers aren’t terrible but are certainly affected by his injury(ies). While the Orioles are likely to “sell” this offseason including the likes of Manny Machado (with whom the St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly interested), J.J. Hardy will likely be auctioned by a few clubs.
A general double-digit home run hitter per season will bring some interest in Hardy and should bring interest from the St. Louis Cardinals.
If the Cardinals were to pick up Hardy, they could have a left side platoon of Gyorko/DeJong at third, and Hardy/DeJong at short. And if the Cardinals were so inclined, they could “sell” Gyorko this offseason and swap him for someone like Josh Donaldson (or Machado).
Picking up a shortstop, while at first glance might not seem too necessary, would add value to the 2018 St. Louis Cardinals. Until questions are answered regarding Wong, Gyorko, and Carpenter, the Cards would be wise to consider someone like Hardy.