Cardinals get a familiar face back who could look like a completely new player

The St. Louis Cardinals will return a familiar face to the fold, but his playing style could be a completely new one.

8-13 is not the start that the St. Louis Cardinals envisioned for themselves in 2023. The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs look definitively better than the Cards, with the Pirates shockingly outperforming and sitting at 15-7.

The Cardinals are flirting with the Reds in terms of win-loss record right now. It’s certainly early, but that tells you a lot about where the team currently is.

There are options in the farm system that could be called up or sent down to change the fortunes, but for the most part, the team the Cardinals have is the one they’ve got. One player the team is getting back early? Paul DeJong. He could be activated as soon as today (Sunday) according to team reporter John Denton.

Paul DeJong hopes to be a new player this time around with St. Louis Cardinals

Normally, when an entrenched player is making his way back from the IL early, that’s cause for celebration amongst fans. With DeJong, don’t expect that reaction. He’s struggled tremendously the last few seasons, batting below .200 the last two. In 2021, his XBA of .211 was in the bottom 4 percent of the league, and he followed that up in 2022 with an even worse mark of .182.

It’s far easier, and perhaps warranted, to take up a pessimistic reaction with DeJong’s return than an optimistic one.

This could be different, though. DeJong spent the offseason working with new St. Louis hitting coach Dan Nicolaisen this summer. He is using less of a stride at the plate, similar to how Paul Goldschmidt approaches at-bats when he has two strikes against him. 

DeJong could be a new player. Cardinals fans certainly hope so. Unfortunately, the Cardinals need help on the mound more than they do at the plate, but a re-tooled DeJong would be a welcome sight.