What happened to Paul DeJong? Blue Jays shortstop designated for assignment weeks after being acquired

On Saturday, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that they had designated Paul DeJong for assignment. DeJong was signed at the trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals after Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette went down with a knee injury.

Bichette was reinstated from the IL on Saturday, and to make room on the roster, DeJong was the odd man out. He has spent a little under three weeks with the team.

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Unfortunately, Paul DeJong's time with the Blue Jays was one to forget. He appeared in 13 games and hit .068/.068/.136 with 18 strikeouts, which did not help his cause.

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DeJong will be put on waivers and will likely be released. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment. Once he clears waivers, any team will have the opportunity to sign him to the league minimum.

Paul DeJong could have stuck in Toronto if his production was better

The Toronto Blue Jays hoped Paul DeJong could find himself in the short time he spent with the club, but that did not happen. He could have shifted to second base, with Whit Merrifield being the utility player that he is.

DeJong has been struggling the last few seasons, especially at the plate. Last year, he finished the season hitting .157/.245/.286 with six home runs and 25 RBIs, all career lows. He seemingly turned the corner this season, hitting .233 through 81 games with the St. Louis Cardinals, but that was short-lived.

Toronto cannot afford to roll somebody out like that who is struggling. The Blue Jays are in an intense battle with the Seattle Mariners for the final American League Wild Card spot. They are currently 0.5 games behind Seattle.

Toronto must be at their best to close out the season. A few unsuspected losses could be the difference between making the postseason and watching it from their couches.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

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Edited by Jared "Bloomy" Bloom