The Tigers and veteran infielder Paul DeJong have agreed to a minor league contract, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The C.L. Rocks client recently opted out of a minor league deal with the Yankees.
DeJong, 32, is a veteran of nine big league seasons. The slick-fielding, righty-swinging shortstop can handle any infield position at an average or better level. At the plate, he’s a strikeout-prone, low-OBP hitter with above-average power. DeJong has taken exactly 3500 plate appearances in the majors and slashed .229/.294/.416 with 146 home runs, fanning at a 27.9% clip against a below-average 7.1% walk rate.
Though he only took 83 plate appearances with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton, DeJong popped six home runs in that short time. He also drew walks at a huge 19% clip. However, he hit only .203, leading to an oddball slash line of .203/.361/.516 during his relatively short stint in the Yankees organization.
DeJong has played in each of the past nine big league seasons. Last year’s 208 plate appearances with the Nationals were the fewest he’s logged in a 162-game season, though his playing time was hindered by a frightening injury early in the season, wherein DeJong took an errant fastball to the face. He suffered facial fractures and lacerations, ultimately spending about two months on the shelf. DeJong hit .228/.269/.373 with only six homers last year, but a year prior he ripped 24 long balls in semi-regular work for the White Sox and Royals while slashing .227/.276/.427.
The Tigers aren’t immediately adding DeJong to the big league roster, though it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him get a look before long. Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry and Trey Sweeney are all on the injured list (the latter on the 60-day IL). Rookie Kevin McGonigle has seized an everyday role while splitting time between third base and shortstop. Gleyber Torres is locked in at second base. Colt Keith is playing third base frequently — particularly against right-handed pitching.
That doesn’t leave much room for regular playing time, but Detroit’s bench currently features journeyman Zack Short and rookie Hao-Yu Lee. Short is hitless through his first three plate appearances, which isn’t a concern for any batter in and of itself, but he’s a lifetime .171/.269/.295 hitter in 597 big league plate appearances (including a prior stint in Detroit). It’s not reasonable to expect him to provide even DeJong’s modest levels of offense at the plate. Lee, meanwhile, has struggled in a part-time role. If the Tigers want to get the 23-year-old regular at-bats to build on last year’s .243/.342/.406 line from Triple-A (14 homers, 22 steals, 106 wRC+), they could option him out and plug DeJong into the bench mix.
