Royals acquire infielder Paul DeJong from White Sox

CHICAGO, Ill.—The Kansas City Royals announced today that they have acquired infielder Paul DeJong from the Chicago White Sox for right-handed pitcher Jarold Rosado. To make room on Kansas City’s 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher John McMillon has been designated for assignment.

DeJong (duh-yung), who turns 31 on Friday, has hit 18 home runs in 102 games for the White Sox this season, including 15 homers in 89 games at shortstop, ranking him 4th in the American League.

On July 10 of this year, DeJong started at third base for Chicago, marking his first game at that position in the Majors. He has made 816 appearances in the field, with 783 of them (96.0%) at shortstop, also making 22 appearances at second base and 11 at third. Since his debut in 2017, he owns a .979 fielding percentage at shortstop, tied for the 6th-highest mark in that span. He is one of 10 shortstops since his debut to record over 100 home runs.

DeJong was a National League All-Star in 2019 with the Cardinals after he collected a career-high 30 home runs and 31 doubles in 159 games, posting a .762 OPS. He has appeared in 14 postseason games and has recorded multiple hits in 4 of them, most recently playing in the 2022 Wild Card Series.

A native of Orlando, Fla., DeJong was selected by St. Louis in the 4th round of the 2015 Draft out of Illinois State University. Pittsburgh selected him in the 38th round in 2014, but he did not sign.

Rosado, 22, has made 27 relief appearances for Low-A Columbia, posting a 1.85 ERA (8 ER in 39.0 IP). He signed with the Royals as an international free agent in Feb. 2020 out of the Dominican Republic.