Paul DeJong is set to undergo season-ending hamstring surgery after the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens placed him on the full-season injured list. The Tigers minor league infielder had just joined the system on a minor league deal and was in only his sixth game when the injury ended his season.
DeJong’s May 12 Exit
DeJong last appeared on May 12, when he was visibly limping around the bases to score a run. That was the last time he took the field before the move to Toledo’s full-season injured list, and the injury now shuts down what was supposed to be his run as added infield depth.
Jon Heyman wrote at 6:51pm that DeJong suffered a hamstring injury that’ll require season-ending surgery. The injury comes after the Tigers added him to a roster that was already dealing with several infield absences, leaving the club without another option it had brought in to cover the position group.
Tigers Infield Depth
Gleyber Torres, Trey Sweeney and Javier Báez were already on the injured list when the report surfaced. That left DeJong as part of a thinning infield picture, even before his own setback removed him from the mix.
His recent track record shows why the Tigers took the chance. DeJong played 57 games for the Nationals last season after missing over two months with facial fractures caused by a fastball, then hit six home runs in 83 plate appearances for the Yankees' Triple-A club before opting out of that deal.
Since the start of 2022, he has struck out in 32.1% of his 1,327 plate appearances and has hit 50 home runs. That mix of power and swing-and-miss has followed him through the last few seasons, and the surgery now turns this signing into another lost stretch in a season already built around depth.
