The Kansas City Royals might be just a few pieces away from having a significantly improved roster over last year. Veteran pitchers Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen are returning, and they traded for Jonathan India.
One more bat could make a big difference however, and they could look into the free agent market and find a piece. They would be wise to bring back veteran utility man Paul DeJong, who they acquired from the Chicago White Sox late in the year.
However, Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball predicts that DeJong will jump ship and join a former team in the Toronto Blue Jays.
“DeJong is not a perfect player (32.4% K-rate in 2024), but he’s at least a quality big leaguer who could help most teams in the infield next season,” Finkelstein wrote.
“The 31-year-old made the most of the playing time he got with the Chicago White Sox last season, hitting 18 home runs before the trade deadline. He doesn’t play great defense at short, but can still plug that gap (-9 DRS, -1 OAA) well enough for a team that doesn’t have a better answer.”
DeJong was an All-Star in 2019 with the St. Louis Cardinals, who traded him to the Blue Jays at the deadline in 2023. Last year, he hit just .227 but also hit 24 home runs and drove in 56 runs.
He can provide power from the right side of the plate and can also play all four infield positions. The Blue Jays would do well by signing him, but the Royals may want to act if they want to have an extra bat in their lineup.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
