St. Louis Cardinals: Pros and cons of 5 free-agent shortstops

ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 24: Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals fields a ground ball during the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Busch Stadium on August 24, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 24: Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals fields a ground ball during the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Busch Stadium on August 24, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 20: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves slides safely into second base avoiding a tag by Corey Seager #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning of Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 20, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 20: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves slides safely into second base avoiding a tag by Corey Seager #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning of Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 20, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Corey Seager

With the trade deadline acquisition of Trea Turner, the Los Angeles Dodgers will certainly be moving on from long-time shortstop Corey Seager, who was drafted by the club in 2021. He’s had his share of injury issues over the years, but any club that gets Seager will have a stellar bat and glove addition.

Pros

  • in 95 regular-season games in 2021,  he’s hit .306/.394/.521 with a .915 OPS and 147 wRC+. He had 22 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs, and 57 RBI. He contributed to 20 double plays this season with a fielding percentage of .975.

Cons

  • Seager is a really good player but has not played a full season in a couple of years. Is a full, healthy season something you could expect from Seager? Would he be worth a large contract he’s anticipated to garner, if he couldn’t prove he can be a team’s full team shortstop? He’s a huge gamble.

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