Paul DeJong's rough start should be no surprise, especially to the Cardinals

The shortstop is already sticking out like a sore thumb.

Before you wake up, sip the coffee, and toss some burnt toast Paul DeJong’s way, remember how sad it is for a Cincinnati Reds fan this morning.

Their team is 2-13, eight games out of first place in the N.L. Central and 68 games away from relevancy. The Cardinals handled them easily Saturday night to improve to 9-4, good for first in the division. Cincy saw their playoff hopes dwindle in April, settling into fifth place.

So, which would you prefer? A soup to nuts disaster like the Reds, or a leaky pipe at shortstop? Cardinal Nation is furious over the start for DeJong. I’d say what he has done is par for the course. Before you really get mad about Pauly, think about your expectations. The good spring training he had didn’t help matters at all.

“Look dad, DeJong just watched that awful slider go into the mitt instead of offering at the pitch.”

“Mom! Paul just drew a walk!”

“Everyone, he had a two-hit game!”

Starting this morning, DeJong has five hits in 36 at-bats. He’s collected a home run, striking out 15 times with six walks. The eighth spot in the order belongs to him, and the gripes start less than an hour into the game. He’s back in that zombie-type, up and down mode at the plate. It’s like the count is 0-2 already as the first pitch is thrown his way.

DeJong is slugging .278 yet has provided the team with a 0.2 fWAR. Take that number due to his defense, which is still sharp for the most part. The glove keeps him in the game, but the cold bat is starting to eat away at that worth. Once again, this is not a new development.

DeJong’s slugging percentage of .390 and .349 the past two seasons showed little life at the plate. The height of his offensive output was back in 2019 with a 3.7 fWAR, so that’s where the expectations should be measured from. He has a team-friendly contract because he finally gave them a year at shortstop that the Cardinals had been looking for.

I wish the team had aimed higher. No offense to DeJong. He’s up there every at-bat, solving painful riddles and coming away buried deeper than before. Playing in quicksand at the Major League level is no fun, especially for a 9-4 team.

He’s not the only bat malfunctioning. Harrison Bader, Corey Dickerson, Dylan Carlson, and Lars Nootbaar are all under the Mendoza hitting line. Tyler O’Neill is barely over it at .205 and just two extra base hits.

The problem is most of those guys didn’t enter 2022 needing a big year desperately. With the exception of Dickerson, the other struggling Cardinals aren’t living on the bubble. Bader is on the rise, signing a two-year contract before first pitch. O’Neill and the team are negotiating, or they were before his recent dry spell. Carlson made a fine debut in 2021.

DeJong is on the down slope of a solid beginning spoiling into an extended disappointment. He’s the victim of the team handing out long-term deals after only a season or two of output. The Cardinals knew this very well going into the season.

Bill DeWitt Jr. and John Mozeliak steered clear of free agents like Corey Seager and Carlos Correa, bypassing second tier players like Trevor Story and Marcus Semien. They decided to rest their hopes on DeJong and Edmundo Sosa, whose 2022 launch hasn’t been pretty either. The shortstop position is barking louder than the rotation, and that’s oddly surprising.

What Oliver Marmol should do here soon is plug Tommy Edman, who is smashing the baseball at the moment, into shortstop. Nolan Gorman is smashing everything at Memphis, so he will take some reps at second base. You’ll lose some defense, but hopefully gain some run production. Edman’s golden glove works at second too, right?

If not, you’ll have a sub-.200 hitting shortstop on a team with its sights set on playoff activity. Imagine the shortstop gap holding your team back from the small pack of World Series-caliber teams? Ouch.

The Cardinals are 9-4 even with parts of their lineup still not clicking, but no position sticks out more than DeJong at shortstop. The team knew it, and will pay once the schedule toughens up.