Yankees sign ex-Blue Jays infielder who couldn’t get out of Toronto fast enough 

Sometimes one team's pain is another team's gain. That is exactly what the Toronto Blue Jays division rivals New York Yankees are hoping for after agreeing to a minor league contract with former Blue Jays infielder Paul DeJong on Sunday. MLB insider Jon Heyman reported that the deal includes an invite to training camp this spring with the Yankees.

For Blue Jays fans, they will forever remember DeJong as the acquisition that couldn’t get out of Toronto fast enough. Back at the 2023 MLB trade deadline when Blue Jays star shortstop Bo Bichette went down to a knee injury on the eve of the deadline, Toronto was forced to trade for a temporary replacement as they awaited for Bichette’s recovery.

As a result, they decided that DeJong would be the ideal fit as they acquired his services from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitching prospect Matt Svanson. After all, the veteran infielder had a proven track record to be a productive offensive contributor, averaging over 25 home runs and 70 RBIs over a full schedule pace per season.

Yankees sign ex-Blue Jays infielder who couldn’t get out of Toronto fast enough 

However, DeJong’s tenure with the Blue Jays turned out to be a complete disaster to say the least. In 13 games, the 32-year-old infielder posted a dreadful .068/.068/.068/.136 slash line, recording only three hits with one run scored, one RBI and 18 strikeouts over 44 at-bats. Those numbers easily had DeJong among the worst performances from anyone ever in a Blue Jays uniform. To add insult to injury, Svanson has developed into a valuable bullpen piece for the Cardinals, making the overall trade one of the worst deadline moves in Blue Jays franchise history.

Toronto eventually cut ties with the veteran infielder just two weeks after acquiring him before he could potentially sabotage their chances of making the postseason that year. In doing so, the Blue Jays ultimately got Bichette back sooner than expected and he led the way for Toronto to reach the postseason for the second consecutive year.

Since moving on from the Blue Jays, DeJong would go on to spend time with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals during the past three years. He had a solid bounce back 2024 campaign that saw him hit 24 home runs and drive in 56 runs in 139 games of action.

In 2025 he spent a fair chunk of last season on the sidelines due to a facial injury after taking a fastball to the face from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller early in the season. In the end, DeJong would appear in 57 games with the Nationals, compiling a .228 average, .642 OPS, along with 18 runs scored, six home runs and 23 RBIs.

The Yankees will bet on the fact that DeJong can recapture some of his previous form, seen from his solid 2024 campaign. In addition, he should provide New York with tremendous positional versatility with his ability to play all of the infield positions. More importantly, they certainly hope that he won’t repeat the abysmal performance that he had the last time he was in the AL East with Toronto, an undoubtedly forgettable experience.