Cards deal DeJong to Jays for Minor League RHP

ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals and Blue Jays pulled off their third trade in 11 days on Tuesday when St. Louis sent shortstop Paul DeJong and cash to Toronto for Minor League right-hander Matt Svanson.

Svanson, 24, was a 13th-round Draft pick in 2021 who was not ranked among the Jays' Top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline. Svanson, who is 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, will also not break into the Cardinals' Top 30 prospects list.

TRADE DETAILS
Blue Jays get: SS Paul DeJong and cash
Cardinals get: RHP Matt Svanson

Svanson, who was 4-1 with a 1.23 ERA in 24 relief appearances at Class A Vancouver earlier this season, was recently promoted to High-A Dunedin, where he did not give up a run in two appearances. Now with the Cardinals, the native of Zurich, Ill., will be assigned to Double-A Springfield.

The Blue Jays, who acquired closer Jordan Hicks and left-handed reliever Génesis Cabrera from St. Louis in previous days, pursued DeJong after star shortstop Bo Bichette went down with a right knee injury on Monday night. The Cardinals got Minor League pitchers Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein from the Jays for Hicks. They got teenaged catcher Sammy Hernandez in return for Cabrera on July 21.

For the Cardinals, they moved DeJong -- one of the longest-tenured players on their roster -- just hours before the MLB Trade Deadline was to hit at 5 p.m. CT. DeJong, who will turn 30 on Wednesday, has been one of the team’s feel-good stories this season following two-plus years of struggles at the plate.

This season, DeJong has hit 13 home runs -- third-most among NL shortstops -- while batting .233 with 32 RBIs and four stolen bases.

DeJong hit 25 home runs in 2017 to finish second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. He mashed 19 home runs a year later and then made his only NL All-Star Game in 2019 when he hit a career-best 30 home runs and drove in 78 runs.

However, a rib injury and a COVID illness in 2020 played major roles in DeJong’s game falling off dramatically. He hit 19 home runs in 2021, but he lost his job to Edmundo Sosa down the stretch that season. In 2022, he hit just .157 and was demoted to Triple-A Memphis for two months of the season.

This season, DeJong saw his Spring Training marred by a back injury. However, following a strong start to 2023 in the Minor Leagues, DeJong joined the Cardinals in late April and played solid defense at shortstop. His power production and defensive steadiness allowed the Redbirds to move Tommy Edman to the outfield when injuries hit the team in center field.