3 STL Cardinals who won’t survive the trade deadline and why

STL Cardinals could upgrade numerous spots by trading Paul DeJong

To say that Paul DeJong has been a headache for Cardinals fans over the past couple of years would be an understatement. In 2021 while playing 114 games, he slashed a measly .197/.284/.390 only to follow that up with an even worse year in 2022 with a .157/.245/.286 line over 77 games and being sent down to Triple-A a time or too.

But it’s been a resurgent 2023 season for the 29-year-old shortstop. In 25 appearances this season for St. Louis, the veteran has been legitimately one of the best hitters on the ballclub with a line of .291/.371/.616 while launching eight home runs and four doubles on the year to go along with 18 RBI.

So why would the Cards be looking to trade a player swinging the bat so well this year? It really comes down to priorities.

The biggest issue that the Cardinals need to address with the way the lineup has started to show life is the starting pitching problem. We touched on that with Flaherty a bit, but it remains an issue for the team as a whole, especially if they continue to bounce back and try to contend. And the organization just so happens to have a surplus at shortstop.

Not only is DeJong competing for playing time with one of the stalwarts of the lineup, Tommy Edman, but one of the best prospects in baseball, Masyn Winn, is inching closer to being major-league ready, which is another player at the position.

If we’re looking at that trio, DeJong is clearly the most expendable. On top of that, though, he’s helped the Cardinals tremendously this season with his production, raising the floor of his potential trade value, meaning they could package him with a moderate prospect for legitimate pitching help, perhaps with team control still available beyond this year as well. That behooves the organization more long term than hanging on to the odd-man out at a crowded position.