Former Nationals Infielder Will Attempt to Resurrect Career With New York Yankees

The Washington Nationals have seen another one of their former infielders land with the New York Yankees.

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As the Washington Nationals continue to work their way through the first offseason under the leadership of new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, it's interesting to see where some of their former players have ended up.

The Nationals weren't expected to bring back many of the veterans who were signed last winter. This regime appears to be embracing a youth approach so they can do their own evaluations regarding who could potentially be build blocks for the future when it comes to this franchise.

That has resulted in those former players ending up elsewhere, as Amed Rosario decided to re-sign with the New York Yankees following getting traded there ahead of the deadline and Josh Bell inked a contract with the Minnesota Twins. But Rosario isn't the only former Washington player who has signed a deal with the Yankees.

The Yankees sign veteran infielder Paul DeJong to a minor league contract with a spring training invite. He’ll earn $1 million if he makes the team.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 4, 2026

As reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Paul DeJong signed a minor league contract with New York. He'll get a major league spring training invite and will earn a $1 million salary if he's able to make the roster.

DeJong landed with the Nationals on a one-year, $1 million deal last offseason. He was supposed to be a stopgap solution at third base until the organization felt star prospect Brady House was ready to take over that position.

Scary Injury Derailed Paul DeJong's Season

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Nobody was expecting the veteran infielder to be a gamechanger for Washington this past season. It had been a while since he was an All-Star in 2019, and his performance at the plate had consistently been below average when it came to OPS+.

However, the hope was he would provide the lineup some pop after he hit 24 longballs in 2024 and 14 the previous year. Unfortunately for both DeJong and the Nationals, his season was derailed when he took a fastball to the face on April 15 that caused him to miss two-and-a-half months.

Thankfully, he was able to recover from the procedure that was needed to repair his nose and cheekbone. And he finished the 2025 campaign with an overall slash line of .228/.269/.373 with six home runs and 23 RBIs across 57 games played.

Paul DeJong Will Try to Get Career Back on Track With Yankees

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Now, the 32-year-old will try to get things going in his career again with the Yankees. It won't be an easy thing to accomplish since he only signed a minor league deal and he's up against his former teammate Rosario, Oswaldo Cabrera and Jose Caballero for a utility spot on the roster. But a good showing in spring training could have other teams calling if he doesn't make the team.

It will be interesting to see what happens with DeJong as he tries to continue his major league career. By all accounts, he is a great clubhouse guy, so he could be coveted as a veteran presence on another young team like he was with the Nationals last year.