In June, DeJong spent days, then weeks, then the entire month in the minors. This league is hard up here, and hell be tested. I think theres an adjustment to be made both physically and mentally, he added. Cardinals Insider Provides Update On Paul DeJong The righty is expected to throw around 75 pitches in the outing. DeJong, meanwhile, has been better in Triple-A, but is still struggling as hes hitting only .189/.244/.243 with a .487 OPS in 41 plate appearances. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said the team plans to activate DeJong soon, possibly as early as this weekend. Paul DeJong apologizes to Cardinals fans for minor-league - MSN April 22nd, 2023. He is then expected to advance through light throwing. 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 left on. "Tough inning. Stream: https://t.co/JyFc2efJXn pic.twitter.com/8QgBfaVWr9, "DeJong put a great swing on one and really hurt him, obviously," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game. But he also had a 30% K rate. We felt like wed get him moving and determine whats next for him.. He was able to demonstrate the changes during his rehab assignment as batted .353 with three doubles, two homers, and drove in 14 RBIs in 34 at-bats for Class AAA Memphis after he had gone one-for-nine in three Class Low-A games to start the rehab assignment. I fully commend DeJong for trying something new and for his willingness to put in the work to change. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & resort (KS). Thats not $9M former All-Star shortstop levels of production. Instead, the expectation is Gorman will face off against right-handed starting pitching, either as the designated hitter or at second base. The Cardinals are 3-6 through their first nine games. However, DeJong may be close to making his way back. DeJong, who hit at least 19 home runs in each of his first three MLB seasons before seeing his batting average plummet to below .200 the past two years, will be activated following rehab stints with Single-A Palm Beach and Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals couldnt justify waiting any longer. The at-bats just looked the same, he explained. Open their stance. In 2017 DeJong hit .285/.325/.532 with 25 homers in 443 PAs and a 123 wRC+. "When I first got down there, I was anticipating when I would be coming back, but as time went on I was just focusing on playing the game down there. Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MA/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OH/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Help us maintain a respectful and inclusive community. RHP Chris Flexen (0-3, 7.79 ERA): Flexen comes into Sunday set to face an NL Central team for the third consecutive time. RHP Adam Wainwright (groin): Wainwright made a rehab appearance on Wednesday with Class AA Springfield and completed three innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Brendan Donovan who won the first-ever National League utility Gold Glove last year, is now the most likely to fill the void. (Photo: Cliff Welch / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images). A nightly look at the day\'s top sports stories, and a first look at the topics St. Louis fans will be talking about tomorrow. Baseball, the sport of 162 games and six months and enough time for ebbs and flows that other sports dont allow, presented an opportunity for DeJong on Friday, and he seized the moment. Paul DeJong homers in his first game of 2023 - MLB I think a simplified offensive approach with a few more liners and probably the same percentage of Ks should help him do that. His power would fall back to norms. In order for Gorman to be used effectively, he would need to also see ample reps at second base, a position he has played professionally for just over a year. I eased into it as time went on. Pauly's feeling better, but he'll be sidelined for a few days as [his lower back] mainly hurts when he's bending over for ground balls, but rotation -- as far as his swing -- not so much, Marmol said. He is then expected to advance through light throwing. Paul DeJong steps into opportunity he might have 'dreaded' before and delivers big hit for Cardinals vs. Yankees, Four candidates to be this October's Jorge Soler/Eddie Rosario-type playoff hero, Aaron Judge pushes ahead of Yankees legends with torrid home run pace heading into August, New York lands OF Bader for SP Montgomery, Cardinals bolster pitching staff in deadline deal with Pirates for Quintana. And even if he does, its possible that he has played his last game in a Cardinals uniform. Putting the ask on him midstream, I think its something that we want to be cognizant of and give him the best chance of success and just doing it as a knee-jerk reaction. However, hes been unable to carry over the momentum from that moment because of multiple injuries. LHP Packy Naughton (left forearm strain): Since going on the 15-day IL, Naughton has continued a rest program to see how his arm responds. Tired of DeJong? DeJong went 3-for-4 with a home run against the Seattle Mariners on Monday in his first game back from a back injury to help the Cardinals score a 7-3 victory on the road. Follow Katie on Twitter @katiejwoo, Cardinals roster projection 2.0: Who to watch with a week of spring training remaining, MLB spring training standouts: 10 young players who are impressing GMs, scouts. But I just got to keep going. Tommys having an incredible season for us right now at second, Mozeliak said. They didn't quite have in mind the . He emerged from those sessions with a more balanced swing, newly confident that he could get back to being the player who smashed 74 home runs from 2017-19, finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in '17 and played in the All-Star Game in '19. It seemed very likely that once DeJong started facing the worlds best pitching again, his K rate would climb back up to 30%. Losing focus of what Im doing has been my biggest enemy. THE COLD WIRE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF COLD WIRE MEDIA. Andrew Knizner will be Flahertys batterymate as Willson Contreras is slotted into his regular five spot in the lineup as the Cardinals designated hitter. He was never very good at recognizing and driving non-fastballs. He finally had one hiccup outing but cruised into the break with a 1.31 ERA. Obviously, he worked really hard this offseason to address certain things with his swing. Practically giddy over what they hoped they had developed, the Cardinals inked DeJong to a regrettable arbitration buy-out deal. It's more just execution, consistency and just fine-tuning stuff.". Call (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelpline.ma.org (MA), Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). After a fun week of reminiscence, thats exactly what happened. I know it's a long season, so I'm just going to do what I got to do each day, and eventually it'll be good enough to be out there on the field again and show what I can do.. JUPITER, Fla. -- The Cardinals received some roster clarity Monday, when shortstop Paul DeJong suffered a setback in his return from lower back pain that has kept him off the field for the better part of the past week. And those pitches will be on the black in challenge counts and with incredible break and spin. SEATTLE -- Shortstop Paul DeJong, whose career has been marred by shocking struggles much of the past three seasons, is headed back to the Cardinals and could be activated as soon as Sunday, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Saturday. Paul DeJong Rumors - MLB Trade Rumors (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) Paul DeJong was one of three St. Louis Cardinals players who began the 2023 season on the injured list.. DeJong has been dealing with a back issue, while Wilking Rodriguez is out with a shoulder issue and Adam Wainwright is recovering from a groin injury.. So, Im really looking forward to Paul going up and helping our club.. I dont know if that was a strategic decision. The competition for the right-handed bench bat remains wide open. In 2018 he slashed .241/.313/.433 in 490 plate appearances and in his All-Star campaign in 2019 he slashed .233/.318/.444 . Now that's what we call clutch! A native of Orlando, Florida, DeJong attended and played college baseball at Illinois State University (ISU). He made his MLB debut in May 2017 and was named July's NL Rookie of the Month that same season. When youre putting a player on rehab, its about: Do you feel good? I would argue that outside of his often-cited, never duplicated rookie season, his former production levels arent all that exciting. You have permission to edit this article. Yesterday, in the 4th inning of a 2-0 game, Paul DeJong hit a 2-run homer to put the Memphis Redbirds up 4-0. Cardinals latest, deflating loss compounds concerns, Man shot, killed near Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis, What was Andrew Knizner thinking? Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Since hes been here, hes put together quality at-bats. Over his four starts this season, Flexen has allowed 22 hits and 15 runs in 17 1/3 innings. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. ", In July, Holmes made his first All-Star team. Of the four hits he allowed, two here homers. Heres how Mozeliak and manager Oli Marmol answered: When the Cardinals embarked for Kansas City and San Francisco last week, there was already a heavy sense of pressure mounting on DeJong, who posted a mere .247 on-base percentage through the month of April. He batted just .223 but found his power again, popping nine home runs and posting an .820 OPS. Marmol said the Cards have a plan that includes weight room work and conditioning exercises to ease Edman back into Spring Training following his 16-hour flight from Tokyo. Thats worrisome. We'll give him a few days and see how he responds to the treatment and overall work in the weight room, and then go from there.. We wont send you spam. We have even seen batters try to switch sides. A Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, Rex claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has 1967 plate appearances of 92 wRC+ since his rookie season. Maybe they still loved hope as a strategy? When he struggled again to open the 2022 season, DeJong was demoted to Triple-A, but eventually worked his way back to the Majors. In May, Holmes did not allow a single run. Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals up to bat against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on April 16, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But its highly possible that DeJong has played his last game in St. Louis, which would be the latest sign that the Cardinals middle infield of the future will feature Edman at shortstop and Gorman at second base. Thats not nearly enough time to accurately evaluate any change in DeJongs performance or potential. Could Paul DeJong provide a 94 wRC+ or better against primarily right-handed pitchers while giving Edman time off to stay fresh defensively? FRANKIE MONTAS TRADE GRADES: How did Yanks, A's fare? So, Dejong returned. The Cardinals activated shortstop Paul DeJong on Sunday ahead of their road series finale against the Mariners. He homered in the second game of the year, and then only had two extra-base hits both doubles the rest of the month. However, the Cardinals' plans to showcase DeJong fizzled almost from the start when he was unable to play shortstop because of a case of arm fatigue. With Edman playing for South Korea in the WBC and DeJong nursing an injury, an unexpected opportunity has emerged for Masyn Winn, the No. USE OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF OUR TERMS OF USE AND PRIVACY POLICY. His absence should enhance the opportunity for several players battling for the final bench spot, potentially creating a path to the Opening Day roster for outfielders Alec Burleson and Juan Yepez or utility man Taylor Motter. He made his MLB debut in 2017. While Edman is also a contender to slide to shortstop, the Cardinals would prefer to avoid making an abrupt position change, especially one that would unseat the 2021 Gold Glove winner from a position where he is continuing to excel. While in AAA, DeJong was up and down, displaying the same kinds of traits he has had for years in the majors with the added production bump from facing exclusively minor league arms. What went wrong for Paul DeJong in 2022? He, John Mozeliak, Oliver I am sure that little splits-oriented nuance is part of the reason the club decided fairly early in the offseason to bring him back. In the past, when things went wrong, I was thinking too far ahead.