Paul DeJong did almost nothing at the plate for the Toronto Blue Jays last year after he was acquired at the trade deadline to help fill in for an injured Bo Bichette.
So you can forgive Blue Jays fans for double-checking the scoreboard while watching DeJong hit a home run and do some damage for the Chicago White Sox on Victoria Day in his return to Rogers Centre.
The veteran shortstop had three hits, matching his total in 44 at-bats as a Blue Jay last year, a stolen base and two RBIs in Chicago’s 7-3 loss in the series opener on Monday.
Acquired by Toronto in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals last Aug. 1, DeJong was designated for assignment just 17 days later after striking out 18 times and batting .068 with singles for all three hits. He had one RBI with Toronto.
The San Francisco Giants picked DeJong up on waivers for the remainder of the 2023 season before the White Sox signed him to a one-year, $1.75-million deal prior to this season.
DeJong homered off Jose Berrios in the seventh on Monday to give him seven home runs for the season. If he was a Blue Jay, that would put him second on the team.
Fortunately for the Jays, their inconsistent bats had one of their better outings of the season in a 9-3 win over the lowly White Sox, preventing DeJong from being a possible game hero.
