Ex-New York Mets players and former New York Yankees going from one borough to another seems to be a theme every offseason. On Sunday, the Yankees did something a little different.
Rather than take a former Mets player, with Paul Blackburn and Amed Rosario already joining them this offseason, they went the complete opposite direction. On a minor league deal, Paul DeJong will join the Yankees.
Casual MLB fans won’t see much meaning behind this. Mets fans know there’s more to this career .229 hitter when he’s plugged into the lineup versus the team in Queens.
If nothing else, Mets killer Paul DeJong is going to cause trouble in the 2026 Subway Series
A lifetime .294/.319/.625 hitter versus the Mets, DeJong has hammered an outrageous 11 home runs in 144 plate appearances against the Metropolitans. It’s almost on-par with how many he has hit against NL Central ball clubs, the ones he faced most regularly during his years with the St. Louis Cardinals.
DeJong doesn’t come to the Yankees with any surefire chance to play in the majors. He seems to be some added insurance in case Anthony Volpe is unavailable to begin the year. The Yankees already signed Rosario for some added depth. He, on a major league contract, will be there to open the year with the team and have a significant role as he did in the latter part of the 2025 season.
The Mets and Yankees play each other twice in 2026, first in mid-May and appropriately again on the weekend of September 11th. Coming off of a quieter season with the Washington Nationals, DeJong has a way to go before building up more credibility as a regular, even off the bench, in the majors.
There probably isn't a Mets pitcher left on the roster right now who remembers when DeJong was a Cardinals pest. Always a part-timer with a knack for hitting just under .230, he's the kind of player who'll catch a Mets reliever who doesn't know about his magic spell on the team napping with a curveball right down the middle of the plate.
