Ex-Royals $1 Million All-Star In Line To Claim Starting Role With NL East Team

A former Royal has found a new home with the Nationals.

Feb 21, 2025; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; Washington Nationals shortstop Paul DeJong (14) poses for a photo during picture day at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals had a solid offseason this year. They brought back veteran pitchers Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen, signed reliever Carlos Estevez and traded for Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer.

The addition of India pushed a member of last year's 86-win team out of the picture. Paul DeJong was a free agent and ultimately signed with the Washington Nationals after not having a clear path in Kansas City.

Brad Wakai of Sports Illustrated predicted however that DeJong would have an everyday role with the Nationals in 2025, specifically at the hot corner after a strong defensive showing early in camp.

"DeJong seemed to be the player Washington was leaning towards coming into the spring, and after solid defensive showings in their exhibition games, he appears to be the front-runner for that job at this point in time," Wakai wrote.

"It's been so far, so good for DeJong during spring training, holding a perfect fielding percentage during his four games and 19 innings at the time of writing."

DeJong can play all four infield positions, having been used in multiple spots during his time with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals experimented with him at third base last year after they acquired him from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline.

DeJong hit .227/.276/.427 last year with the Royals and White Sox, slugging 24 home runs, knocking in 56 runs and posting a .703 OPS. The former All-Star did well in Kansas City after joining the team, hitting six home runs in 37 games.

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