Paul DeJong of the Toronto Blue Jays takes fielding position against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Rogers Centre on Aug. 13, 2023, in Toronto.
Mark Blinch/Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants signed former All-Star shortstop Paul DeJong to a major league contract on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.
The move comes three days after the Toronto Blue Jays designated him for assignment. The Jays traded for him Aug. 1.
The Giants targeted the 30-year-old infielder at the trade deadline, but Toronto ultimately beat them to the punch when Bo Bichette went down with an injury. San Francisco now gets to have its man without sending anyone from the farm system, but that doesn’t necessarily make this move a steal.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The Blue Jays got rid of DeJong for a reason. The shortstop has been a mess at the plate, going 3-for-44 with Toronto. He’s had a tough stretch since his lone All-Star year in 2019 — he hit 30 home runs that year — going .196/.280/.351 in the next three seasons. To DeJong’s credit, that slash line is still better than what Giants veteran Brandon Crawford, currently on the 10-day injury list, has put together this season.
The good news is that he’s still a strong defender. DeJong is tied for eighth in the league in outs above average, which calculates how many outs a player has saved compared with others around the league, with seven. He’s also producing the best fielding percentage of his career.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that DeJong will join the team Wednesday, when the Giants have an early-afternoon game against the Phillies. Philadelphia is sitting in the top wild-card spot, three games ahead of the Giants, who are hanging on to the last playoff spot at 65-60.