Just when it seemed like the Cardinals' luck with injuries couldn't get any worse, shortstop Paul DeJong was hit in the hand with a pitch Thursday night. He said he felt OK after the game, but it turns out he was far from that.
Friday, the Cardinals placed him on the disabled list due to a fractured left hand. The Cardinals haven't given a timetable for his return, but the four-to-six week range seems like a good guess.
DeJong, 24, is hitting .260/.351/.473; 126 OPS+ with eight doubles, eight homers and 19 RBI this season. He joins Luke Gregerson, Carson Kelly, Dominic Leone, Tyler Lyons, Carlos Martinez, Yadier Molina, Alex Reyes and Adam Wainwright on the disabled list. Most of those players were hurt this month, too.
With DeJong out, Greg Garcia or rookie Yairo Munoz could handle shortstop duties, but that's a pretty sizable downgrade from DeJong with the bat. Friday, they are using Jedd Gyorko at shortstop with Kolten Wong at second and Matt Carpenter at third. This one is a sub-optimal defensive alignment, as Gyorko doesn't belong at short (negative seven career defensive runs saved in 438 2/3 innings there).
Since sweeping the Cubs at home earlier this month, the Cardinals have been limping along, losing six of their last nine. They have three more games against the Phillies coming this weekend. It'll be an uphill battle against one of the best teams in baseball.
