The St. Louis media is pushing heavy this rumor that the Cardinals lead the pack in getting Trevor Story. Then they'll decide to trade Paul DeJong and eat a good part of his contract for 2022-2023. I know DeJong hit .150 last year, but he broke a rib in May and I don't think he recovered well (I once broke a rib and couldn't do a push-up for four months).

I know the idea is not to go cheap on a Shortstop, but I see a real deal here. St. Louis would probably take no more than a few mid-pack prospects and would kick in for some of his salary.

DeJong is a premium defender with excellent plate discipline who hit well every year except for last year. He hits for reasonable power, even popping 30 over walls in 2019. He's a career 12.9 WAR across five seasons. Even last year, with his hitting woes, he had a 1.6 WAR.

Of course, DeJong is not a top-tier shortstop, but last year's hitting problems seem to be related to a lingering injury. I like this idea for two reasons. 1.) We can spend more money on top-tier pitching. 2.) It gives more time to assess if Ryan Kreidler is the real deal. With an OPS of .803 between AA and AAA last year, I think Kreidler is a much better prospect than many people believe. 3.) Our pitchers have suffered from poor fielding up the middle, and if we had Schoop and DeJong up the middle, they would greatly benefit (of course this assumes Torkelson either starts the season with the Tigers or will early on.