After a terrible start to the 2022 season, Paul DeJong was ultimately demoted to the St. Louis Cardinals Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds.
The former All-Star shortstop was hitting just .130 with only one home run, seven RBI, and an abysmal .417 OPS.
Things just hadn’t been the same for DeJong since his All-Star campaign.
However, he may not be down in Memphis for too much longer, as he’s been seeing the ball much better.
Last night, he blasted his 16th home run of the year for the Redbirds, opening up a six-run second inning.
Cardinals insider Daniel Guerrero tweeted a video of DeJong’s two-run shot.
Paul DeJong hits his 16th homer with Memphis this season. This two-run blast by DeJong opened up a six-run inning from the Redbirds.pic.twitter.com/gtixg26Jdx
— Daniel Guerrero (@TheDanGuerrero) July 27, 2022
DeJong Knocking On The Door
It may not be too much longer before DeJong gets another shot with the Cardinals.
One area that the Cardinals could look to improve a little is on the bench.
Though Brendan Donovan pretty much took DeJong’s job this year, that doesn’t mean the Cards don’t still have a place for him.
He’s been hitting well down in Memphis, and at the Major League level, Edmundo Sosa has struggled at the plate.
At a certain point, the Cards are going to need more production off the bench.
DeJong qualifies as a utility infielder, as he can play all four positions in the infield.
Sosa may be the better defender, but DeJong is no slouch.
It might be time for the Cardinals to cut ties with Sosa and give their former All-Star another shot in a different role.
That could prevent the Cardinals from having to go out and add a bat at the deadline.
A bench upgrade may already exist within the organization.
We’ll see what happens in the next few days, but it looks like DeJong could be potentially earning a spot back on the Cardinals roster.
Leave a Reply