What to Make of New White Sox Shortstop Paul DeJong

There was movement on the position player side of things prior to Thanksgiving, as the White Sox reportedly came to terms on a one-year deal with veteran shortstop Paul DeJong. The move to sign DeJong came just two weeks after Chicago opted not to retain Tim Anderson. Here’s a closer look at DeJong.

A Look at DeJong

It’s been a wild past three seasons for Paul DeJong, as the veteran shortstop and 2019 All-Star was demoted in 2022 and he played for three different teams this past year. DeJong started with St. Louis, then traded to Toronto and DFA’d shortly after Bo Bichette returned from a midseason injury.

Between St. Louis, Toronto, and San Francisco, DeJong hit .207/.258/.355 (.613 OPS) with 14 home runs and 27 extra-base hits in 2023. Those numbers aren’t great, but DeJong did post a .709 OPS with the Cardinals prior to being traded to the Blue Jays.

DeJong’s been a tantalizing player for years, thanks to his potent power. Just four years ago in 2019, DeJong hit 30 home runs for the Cardinals. However, it’s been down since then.

There were some positive signs, namely the increase in production against fastballs. DeJong’s always done well against sinker, but has struggled with the four-seamer for years. While he only hit .202 with a 33.5% Whiff% against the four-seamer, it was better than the .148 AVG/40.7% Whiff% from a year earlier.

However, DeJong can prove to be a frustrating hitter despite his power. The 30-year-old has posted Whiff% rates north of 35% in each of the last two seasons. In 2023, DeJong’s chase rate went from 27.9% – slightly above-average – to a lowly 35.8%, well below league average.

And despite his power, DeJong’s hard-hit and barrel metrics don’t pop off on the stat sheet. Over the past two seasons, the line drive rate has gone down and he’s always been susceptible to getting under the baseball.

Paul DeJong LA >= 40 in 2023 — It’s been a struggle for DeJong in recent years, but as mentioned earlier, he does have a tendency to get under pitches, particularly against fastballs in the zone. Just this past year, DeJong recorded an LA of at least 40 degrees 132 times out of 1,424 pitches. Seventy-nine were off either the four-seamer (64) or sinker (15).

Defensively, DeJong posted a lowly -14 Outs Above Average in his rookie season back in 2017. Since then, DeJong’s improved at short and posted plus ratings in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. However, metrics aren’t high on his arm strength.

Analysis

At the least, DeJong is an unspectacular replacement at shortstop for Tim Anderson. Yes, the track record is inconsistent with the 30-year-old. However, he does bring more pop to the Sox, as well as a pretty good glove.

Now, does this mean that the White Sox did the right thing with Anderson? That remains to be seen. Anderson did have a bad year in 2023 and appeared destined to move off short.

But even almost a month after the move to let go of Anderson, it’s still somewhat puzzling — at least from an outsider’s eye — as to why the Sox didn’t opt to simply move Anderson to second and hope that he got back on track in 2024 to set up a potential trade.

The ex-Cardinals infielder can also be a stopgap for Colson Montgomery, the highly-touted White Sox prospect whose left-handed stroke at the plate, power, and size has led to comparisons to Corey Seager.

Montgomery’s only had 131 at-bats above A-ball, but it’s not out of the question that the 21-year-old could make it to Chicago by the end of 2024. Until then, the likes of DeJong, Braden Shewmake, Nicky Lopez, and Lenyn Sosa all could slot in for time at shortstop.