The Boston Red Sox are looking to buy with the trade deadline just days away and rumors are really starting to heat up.
One area Boston reportedly has been looking into as of late is the addition of a middle infielder to pair with Trevor Story. The latest news adds fuel to the fire.
The Red Sox and Miami Marlins reportedly are both in talks with the St. Louis Cardinals for middle infielder Paul DeJong according to baseball informant Anderson Vargas. His word alone would not carry a ton of weight but Héctor Gómez, a reliable source, retweeted the information.
Gómez broke a lot of news regarding the Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts negotiations last winter and would not endorse a report blindly.
DeJong is hitting .238 with 24 extra-base hits including 13 home runs, 32 RBIs and a .728 OPS (97 OPS+) in 77 games this season.
While his overall offensive production is nothing to write home about, he ranks as just a slight tick below average and would provide pop at the bottom of the lineup.
His greatest strength this season has been his defense. The 29-year-old ranks in the 94th percentile in outs above average despite his 24th percentile arm strength. DeJong can play second base and shortstop, with an obvious bias toward the former should he come to Boston.
DeJong has a $12.5 million club option nobody would accept, essentially making him a rental.
The semi-versatile slugger would not be the worst addition to the club but it would not exactly inspire fans to fill up Fenway Park. If they get DeJong, he would be marginally better than Pablo Reyes, Yu Chang and Christian Arroyo.
The middle infield market is thin so DeJong might be the best Boston can do without making a massive investment of prospect capital.
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