5 trade targets from the St. Louis Cardinals for the Colorado Rockies

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong is much more likely to be traded and the Colorado Rockies would be a fit

Someone that is much more likely to be traded this offseason (whenever the lockout ends) is St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong and he would be a fit with the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies will almost certainly lose Trevor Story in free agency and they will need someone to replace him either at shortstop or in the infield and move someone else (like Ryan McMahon or Brendan Rodgers) to shortstop.

DeJong, 28, really struggled at the plate in 2021 as, in 113 games, he had 19 homers and 45 RBI but a slash line of just .197/.284/.390 and an OPS+ of 86.

In 2020, he had similar numbers as, in 45 games, he had three homers and 25 RBI with a .250/.322/.349 slash line and an OPS+ of 87. In 2019, though, DeJong was an All-Star as he hit 30 homers and had 78 RBI in 159 games with a .233/.318/.444 slash line with an OPS+ of 99.

Defensively, he had 6 DRS in 2021, 0 DRS in 2020, and 24 DRS in 2019. In 2019, with those defensive numbers, his rWAR was 5.7.

If DeJong could have that production at the plate and defensively, he could be a great asset for the Rockies or, even better, have his 2018 (102 OPS+) or 2017 (121 OPS+).

DeJong is locked up for the next two seasons for a combined $15.33 million and there are two team options for a combined $27.5 million after. Considering his struggles, the Cardinals should pay for some of the guaranteed years but if he can be a 5-6 WAR player like he was in 2019, then he will be well worth the team options, and the Rockies could foot the tab for them.