St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are a team that could use something from the Chicago White Sox.
The St. Louis Cardinals bullpen ranked 11th in baseball last season. However, it could get even better with the edition of Craig Kimbrel. They do not have a reliable closer at the moment.
Alex Reyes struggled and Jordan Hicks is incredibly injury prone. With a team that has potent offensive weapons in Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, the Cardinals want to capitalize on their contention window. Adding an arm like Kimbrel could help push them over the top.
There isn’t much on the major league level that the Cardinals would be willing to trade that would help the White Sox. A player the White Sox should inquire about is Paul DeJong. The Cardinals have not made any indication that they are ready to move off of DeJong.
However, it is worth an ask for multiple reasons. DeJong’s numbers have dipped since his outstanding rookie campaign. Since 2020, he is slashing an ugly .213/.295/.378.
Near the end of the season, a chunk of his playing time went to Edmundo Sosa. The Cardinals also used Sosa in the must-win Wild Card game. On top of that, the Cardinal’s top-rated prospect Nolan Gorman is waiting in the wings and expected to make his debut next season. All of these factors make DeJong tradeable.
While DeJong is a shortstop, he has played 20 games at second base. He is an excellent fielder so he should be able to make the switch to second base if needed. According to Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average, DeJong is an above-average defender.
DeJong also hit 30 home runs in 2019 and batted .285 in 2017 so the offensive upside is there. A change of scenery along with improved lineup protection could be just what DeJong needs to return to form.