Cardinals' Paul DeJong: Staking claim to shortstop job
DeJong, who went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Cubs, is staking a claim to the everyday shortstop job previously held by Aledmys Diaz, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports. "The way he's going about it defensively, it's hard to see him being anywhere else right now," manager Mike Matheny said. "And you mix in the offense and what he's capable of doing, that really puts him as a pretty special shortstop."
Last season, Diaz was the rookie that swooped in and displaced veteran Jhonny Peralta during the latter's absence in the early going of the campaign. Through his impressive play and Diaz's own struggles, DeJong may have already done the same. Factoring in Sunday's production, the rookie's season line stands at .284/.299/.574, and his 25 extra-base hits in 46 games heading into the contest had already tied him for first in that category in franchise history with Albert Pujols. DeJong's 15 extra-base hits in July are tops in the National League as well, and he's also been an asset defensively, posting a plus-5 in Defensive Runs Saved. With Diaz continuing to scuffle at the plate with Triple-A Memphis, it appears increasingly likely that DeJong's major-league audition will continue through the balance of 2017.
