The Kansas City Royals recorded another winning season in 2025, going 82-80 and finishing in third place in the American League Central. Unfortunately, that was not enough to get them back to the postseason for the second straight year.
One of the key members of their playoff roster in 2024 was utilityman Paul DeJong, who they acquired at the trade deadline from the Chicago White Sox. He hit six home runs in his brief stint with Kansas City and posted a .694 OPS.
According to Jon Heyman, the veteran utility infielder is on the move, having signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees.
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Ex-Royal Heads To Yankees On MiLB Deal
DeJong has spent most of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Royals’ Missouri state rivals. He joined the Royals late in 2024.
This past season, he was with the Washington Nationals, hitting .228/.269/.373 with six home runs and a .642 OPS. His best season came in 2019 when he was in St. Louis.
That year, he hit 30 home runs, a career-high and even earned his first All-Star nod. The Yankees have questions at shortstop thanks to the struggles of Anthony Volpe, so the former Royals veteran could be a good insurance policy in case things go wrong with Volpe.
The Royals still are searching for a bat to boost their outfield production, so DeJong was likely never on their list of potential targets this offseason to begin with, but he can play all four infield positions and serve as a utility infielder with the Bronx Bombers, just as he did with Kansas City.
DeJong helped the Royals make a push for a Wild Card spot in 2024, and they even got to the ALDS before falling short in four games against the Yankees. It will be interesting to see how the former Royal fares in New York.
Kansas City also still has a little bit of work left to do, so it should be interesting to see what general manager J.J. Picollo has planned going forward. The Royals need offense to avoid repeating the mistakes of the 2025 season.
DeJong obviously isn’t the answer to their issues, so they might have to dive back into the free agent market for somebody else or make a trade.
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