Kolten Wong’s Rocky Post-Brewers Journey Continues
It’s always nice to know that your team made the right move, but sometimes it’s hard to watch as former players struggle.
Kolten Wong was a good second baseman for the Brewers in 2021 and 2022 – posting a .335 on-base percentage or better in both seasons with 29 home runs and 29 stolen bases over 250 games with Milwaukee.
Some fans might have questioned whether it was the right move to move on from him after the 2022 season, but you can rest assured that you definitely didn’t miss out on anything.
The Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers are finalizing a trade that will send outfielder Jesse Winker and infielder Abraham Toro to the Brewers for second baseman Kolten Wong and around $1.75 million in cash, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. It’s at the finish line.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 2, 2022
Wong has since bounced around from team to team and he’s now looking for a new home after he was released by the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
Kolten Wong Released by Diamondbacks
The sudden collapse of Wong’s career is a bit startling.
He played with the Mariners and Dodgers in 2023, but seemingly forgot how to hit. He batted just .183 with four home runs across 87 games and couldn’t get a major league job to start this season.
Instead, he signed a minor league contract with Baltimore – hoping to make the team out of Spring Training. When he didn’t, he opted out of his contract and instead signed a minor league deal with Arizona.
Now, it looks like he’ll be looking for yet another team.
Arizona released Wong on Tuesday despite a .339 on-base percentage and a .722 OPS across 31 games at Triple-A Reno.
It’s easy to see how this could simply be the end of the road in professional baseball for Wong.
Not many teams (except maybe the White Sox, Angels, or Marlins) have much use for a struggling second baseman turning 34 years old in October.
At the least, Brewers fans can be thankful they had the chance to root for Wong as a successful player and traded him away at the perfect time.
Even though neither Jesse Winker nor Abraham Toro is with Milwaukee anymore, getting rid of Wong was still a win. Winker wasn't brought back after the 2023 season after he struggled at the plate in '22 and Toro was traded to Oakland for minor league pitcher Chad Patrick, who is currently posting solid numbers at Triple-A Nashville (3.02 ERA, 1.176 WHIP, and 45 Ks in 41 2/3 innings).
Regardless of what Patrick winds up contributing, it’s certainly worked out for the best, with 24-year-old Brice Turang (.301 batting average and a .793 OPS) now holding down second base for the Brewers.
Here’s to hoping Wong gets at least one more chance at Major League Baseball so he can go out on a higher note than this.
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