Blue Jays release Paul DeJong, who immediately latches on with new team

For Paul DeJong and the Blue Jays, their two-week long relationship could not possibly have gone any worse. In just 13 games, the 30-year-old managed to go just 3-for-44 with one run scored, one run driven in and a whopping 18 strikeouts versus zero walks.

Acquired at the trade deadline as a reactionary move to Bo Bichette going on the injured list, DeJong has gradually been getting worse and worse at the plate as he ages but remains a fairly solid defender. Before the trade, he had a 93 OPS+ through 81 games with the Cardinals, the highest he'd had since all the way back in 2019. The Blue Jays sent intriguing pitching prospect Matt Svanson back to St. Louis which, sure, isn't a massive, organization-altering loss, but it's clear that no deal would've been better than this one.

Once Bichette made his return from the IL, the obvious move seemed to be either Santiago Espinal or rookie Davis Schneider back down to Triple-A. Instead, the Jays pulled the plug on the DeJong experiment, designating him for assignment after he was on the team for just barely two weeks.

Paul DeJong is on the move, going from the AL East to the NL West

After clearing waivers and hitting the open market, DeJong has reportedly already latched on with a new organization, heading from the AL East to the NL West. Per MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the shortstop has signed a big league contract with the San Francisco Giants and will officially join the club on Wednesday, August 23.

Just two days ago, the Giants placed long-time shortstop Brandon Crawford on the injured list and had been planning to run with some sort of combination of Johan Camargo, Casey Schmitt and Thairo Estrada. Now, DeJong will join that group. In the absence of Crawford, he's likely going to become the best defensive shortstop the Giants have, but it's also worth noting that once Crawford comes back, the odds of DeJong becoming jobless are very high.

At 65-60, the Giants have been a solid team in 2023 and are very much still in contention for a playoff spot. Unfortunately, it's highly likely that the club sees much of the same out of DeJong that the Blue Jays did and move on quickly.