JUPITER, Fla. — On an overcast Tuesday, the Cardinals’ starters took the field for some fielding. Paul Goldschmidt, for instance, jogged to first. Nolan Arenado to third. But two shortstops went to shortstop. And as Paul DeJong fielded a practice grounder, Edmundo Sosa loomed behind him like an ominous cloud.
“This is a very important spring for (DeJong),” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He came in with a different mentality. He knows what’s at stake.”
For now, the Cardinals believe DeJong will be their starting shortstop. Sosa, though, started 59 games there last year. I’m underwhelmed by both options.
I’m not optimistic about DeJong's offensive 2022. People often talk about the past two years being rough for him — and to be fair, he did battle COVID and a rib injury. But what about the two years before that? In 2019, he made the All-Star team and hit 30 homers, yes. But his OPS that year was .762. Want to know where that ranked in the majors? Ninety-seventh. Yes, even though he was an All-Star, 96 players had a better OPS than he did (including 13 shortstops).
And in 2018, the year after DeJong’s breakout 2017 rookie campaign, he had an OPS of .746.
How many chances does he get?
This will likely be the last one — either DeJong returns to his form from a half-decade ago ... or he’s got to go.
“We come here to compete,” said DeJong, whose 2022 will be his fifth season in his six-year, $26-million deal. “There are players that are coming up. And I got reminded of that last year. Now it’s on me to kind of take advantage of every opportunity, whether that’s early work or extra work. I just feel a little more motivated this year, just to kind of handle my business and do what I’ve got to do. …
“I wasn’t satisfied at all with how my last two years have gone, really. A lot of stuff has happened in the world and things around the league and all that stuff. So this year, it feels more free than ever, just to kind of know that we’re all back, that there are good vibes are we’re going to play a full season. Despite everything that happened, this is truly a fresh start.”
During our Tuesday chat at a picnic table by the clubhouse, DeJong shared that he “expects” to hit for power but would like to improve his RBI production (45 in 402 plate appearances last year) and, of course, his batting average (.197). Perhaps you read in this paper about the winter adjustments he made with a coach to his swing.
And he sees Sosa. Feels Sosa. Oh, and there are looming free agents out there, too. I’ve written before that the Cards should buy a bat, be it for designated hitter or even shortstop. There are numerous shortstop options at different price points. This is a season to splurge, to over-fortify.
But DeJong can’t fight what could happen — he simply must fight for his job in real time.
The good news for DeJong optimists is his candor and commitment. He’s humble and hungry.
“I know I trust myself, and I trust my talent and hard work and preparation,” said DeJong, 28, following a good day at the plate during live batting practice sessions. “But it’s things that I maybe have strayed from the last couple years — just searching, and when things go bad, I started thinking of other things and abandoning.
“But this offseason allowed me to figure out what makes me good and what I need to work on — quick fixes in the box or in the cage. Little ideas that I’ve kind of just visualized and kind of implemented into my routine.”
Sosa is good in spurts. He’s a tough player. But I don’t see him starting the majority of games for a World Series team. Which made one wonder about another possible in-house shortstop: the second baseman.
See, as the starters took their spots Tuesday, two players trotted out to second, too — Tommy Edman and Nolan Gorman.
If top prospect Gorman really is big-league ready, why not shift Gold Glove winner (and switch-hitter) Edman to short? Right away, one wonders about Edman’s arm strength. Could he make “shortstop” throws consistently? Having the amazing Arenado on that side on the infield alleviates the situation, but to what degree? Still, against righthanded pitching, perhaps Edman could occasionally start at short with the lefty-hitting Gorman at second?
But that won’t happen for a little while, if at all. The Cardinals are committed to DeJong, and if he falters, Sosa would get a shot. But what if they’re both playing poorly by, say, mid-May?
“(DeJong) is looking to take that job — his mentality is very competitive,” Marmol said. “You can tell, and just the way his demeanor is, how he’s carrying himself in the clubhouse, how he’s going about his work in the cage. And you can just tell there’s a there’s a different look in his eyes with what’s at stake this year and kind of how he wants to go about it. And it’s good to see.
“Our goal is to get Paul DeJong to be the Paul DeJong we know he’s capable of — and that he knows he’s capable of. Sosa is a very good player that we’re excited to see at short as well. We had a lengthy conversation about him this morning and some of the things he needs to be able to improve on. But we have two really good shortstops.”
