St. Louis Cardinals: 2 who have rewarded team’s faith, 1 who hasn’t

Paul DeJong

On the other side of the wall, we have Paul DeJong, who has regressed in nearly every facet of the game this year and is making his contract extension through 2023 appear worrisome to everyone in the organization.

DeJong is struggling to stay above the Mendoza Line in 2021, and his average exit velocity is near the bottom of the league. His Baseball Savant stats do show that he has been a bit unlucky, but he still has an expected batting average of .215.

DeJong hasn’t shown his Gold Glove-caliber defense from 2019 in the past two years either. While he has improved a bit from last year in his Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average, he is still nowhere close to what he showed in 2019.

The Cardinals might be tempted by the elite shortstop options in free agency this offseason: Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Andrelton Simmons and Brandon Crawford could all sign with new teams in 2022, and if the Cardinals want a piece of the action, they’ll have to make some decisions with DeJong.

The Cardinals would do well to give DeJong one more chance, though. With the [sigh] designated hitter likely to arrive in the National League in 2022, there will be another spot in the lineup for a hitter, and that spot could be enough to squeeze DeJong in there while still being able to acquire a hotshot shortstop in free agency.

It might take more than DeJong himself to fix the mechanical issue he said he spotted in his swing. A new hitting coach could find something in DeJong’s approach that has been missing this year and fine-tune it.

While the Cardinals’ faith in DeJong might be shaken, one bad season doesn’t always define a player’s career. If he can turn it around next year, expect his power bat to play a big role in the team’s offense.

Fans’ hindsight is 20/20, but it’s impossible to know which decisions will prosper and which will fall flat. Wainwright’s and Bader’s performances have been great to watch unfold, while DeJong’s lack of results has caused frustration among the fanbase. Sometimes the front office and management hit a home run, and sometimes they strike out, but when it comes right down to it, they’re guessing just as much as fans at home are.