White Sox signing former All-Star shortstop to replace Tim Anderson
Sep 1, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of Chicago White Sox hat and glove against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Getz continues to make moves in his opening act as Chicago White Sox general manager.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Tuesday that the White Sox are signing veteran shortstop Paul DeJong. The 30-year-old DeJong is getting an MLB deal from the team.
The news comes a few weeks after Chicago decided to part ways with longtime shortstop Tim Anderson. A two-time All-Star and former AL batting champion, Anderson was the White Sox shortstop since 2016 but had a career-worst 2023 season, hitting .245 with a putrid .582 OPS. That would lead to Chicago declining Anderson’s $14 million 2024 team option.
DeJong is an experienced former All-Star himself (earning a Midsummer Classic nod with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019). But you could make the argument that DeJong is even worse than Anderson at this point. He hit .226 with 103 strikeouts in 328 combined at-bats with St. Louis, Toronto, and San Francisco in 2023. DeJong was so bad when the Blue Jays traded for him as a short-term injury replacement for Bo Bichette that he was waived less than 20 days later.
A silver lining though is that DeJong will likely come much cheaper than the $14 million that the White Sox would have spent on Anderson. Meanwhile, Getz, whose hire was widely criticized, is staying busy during his inaugural offseason. In addition to the effective Anderson-for-DeJong swap, Getz recently dealt reliever Aaron Bummer to the Atlanta Braves for a fairly impressive multi-player haul.
