The Giants had to wait a month longer than they hoped, but they finally ended up with veteran shortstop Paul DeJong.
DeJong and the Giants reached an agreement on a deal a few days after he was designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area. Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first to report the deal.
The Giants had interest in DeJong before the deadline but the Blue Jays pounced when there was uncertainty about Bo Bichette's knee. They circled back in recent days after DeJong was let go, and the shortstop is expected to join the Giants on Wednesday in Philadelphia.
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Farhan Zaidi initially pivoted to Mark Mathias at the deadline and then signed veteran Johan Camargo, who was promptly brought to the big leagues and has struggled at the plate. DeJong figures to either take the Camargo or Casey Schmitt spot as the Giants wait for Brandon Crawford (forearm strain) to come off the IL.
While Camargo is 4-for-17 since coming up from Triple-A, DeJong had much more glaring struggles in his brief time in Toronto. He was 3-for-44 with 18 strikeouts, posting a .136 OPS in 13 appearances.
The Giants are surely hopeful he can get back to his St. Louis form. DeJong had 13 homers and a .710 OPS before the July trade. He broke through with 30 homers in 2019 and was an All-Star, but he has just a .632 OPS in the years since.
DeJong has continued to rate as an above-average shortstop throughout, and this season he ranks in the 94th percentile in Statcast's Outs Above Average. While he has primarily been a shortstop in his career, DeJong does have some big league experience at second base.
