3 Cardinals who could replace Paul DeJong on the roster after his injury setback

With Paul DeJong appearing to head to the IL before Opening Day, these three players could take his spot on the Cardinals' roster

St. Louis Cardinals fans have been clamoring for Paul DeJong to be replaced on this Cardinals' roster for what feels like an eternity. With news of his recent injury setback, the club will likely be forced to finally do so, even if it's only for the immediate future.

DeJong starting the regular season on the injured list may actually be the best-case scenario for both the Cardinals' and the disappointing shortstop. The Cardinals were hoping for some major strides in DeJong's ability at the plate this season after an encouraging offseason revamping his swing. He did put up a .833 OPS this spring, but it was only in 13 at-bats and was carried heavily by his 6 walks and 2 home runs.

If the Cardinals and DeJong tried to get him on the field as soon as possible, he'd only have a few games to prove himself to the coaching staff and front office. Beginning the season on the injured list allows DeJong a bit more time to heal up from his nagging issues, and then put together a few weeks worth of game action on rehab stints before the club has to make a final decisoin on DeJong.

In the meantime, this opens up a roster spot for someone to snatch up as Opening Day quickly approaches.

Let's look at three players who could replace DeJong on the Cardinals' Opening Day roster in light of his recent injury.

Taylor Motter

Coming into Spring Training with little fanfare, Taylor Motter was signed by the Cardinals this winter on a minor league contract and has really come on as of late to show why he could be a valuable player for the Cardinals this season.

Motter, 33, has been the classic "AAAA" player to this point in his career. He made his Major League debut with the Rays back in 2016, but only has a .572 OPS in 159 career big league games. In 2062 plate appearances in Triple-A though, he has posted a .834 OPS, including a .255/.357/.523 slash line with 20 HR and 54 RBI last season.

Motter has played in 19 of the Cardinals' Spring Training games thus far, posting a .795 OPS with 3 HR and 6 RBI to this point. He's showing great versatility as well, playing all over the diamond and holding his own at each position. This will go a long way toward helping his case for that final roster spot.

Motter has a strong case to be the roster replacement for DeJong, but there are still two other names that are worth discussing for the role.

Kramer Robertson

Fans may recognize Kramer Robertson after he made his brief MLB debut with the club in 2022, but not many realize that he bounced between a few other organizations after the fact.

After being claimed and waived by both the Braves and Mets during the summer, the Cardinals were able to pick Robertson back up off of waivers in August and option him back to Triple-A Memphis. Robertson came into Spring as a non-roster invite but now may get his chance to make the Cardinals' Opening Day roster.

While Robertson has played in 16 games this spring, he's only received 19 at-bats, so his play at the plate is a very small sample size. And yet, Robertson has taken advantage of those opportunities, posting a 1.037 OPS while also playing all over the diamond. At 28 years old, the infielder could use this opportunity to become a late bloomer in the game of baseball.

In my opinion, Motter and Robertson make the most sense to replace DeJong since neither will need consistent playing time and can be a capable replacement up the middle if needed. Still, there is one name some fans will clamor for that is worth consideration but is not worth making the roster without everyday playing time.