The St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong has finally made his debut in the 2023 MLB season and it did not take him much time before making his presence felt on offense. DeJong went 3-for-4 with a home run against the Seattle Mariners on Monday in his first game back from a back injury to help the Cardinals score a 7-3 victory on the road.

Despite his immediate impact on the Cardinals, it's probably going to take some more time before he finds a solid role on the team, according to Cardinals outfielder Katie Woo.

“I would expect the playing for (Paul DeJong) to fluctuate, and to resemble what Oli Marmol has been doing in the outfield,” Woo said.

FanGraphs has a projected playing time of only 15 percent at the shortstop position in St. Louis for Paul DeJong, while Tommy Edman owns an 81 percent projected 81 percent playing time in the same infield slot.

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DeJong signed a six-year deal with the Cardinals worth $26 million back in 2018, and he is pressed to have a good performance this year if he wants St. Louis to have his 2024 club option ($12.5 million) picked up. His 2024 team also has a club option on him for 2025 worth $15 million.

In the 2022 MLB season, the one-time All-Star hit just .157 to go with a .245 OBP and .285 SLG. He also hit just six home runs with 25 RBI across 77 games and 237 plate appearances. He was sent to Triple-A in 2022 after batting .130 through 24 games into the season.

Paul DeJong hasn't had a season with a batting average better than .200 since 2020 when he hit .250.