Cardinals GM John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny have both heaped praise onto second baseman Kolten Wong this winter, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, further suggesting that the 26-year-old isn’t likely to be traded. Wong’s name surfaced in rumors earlier this winter and has come up in speculation that has been linked to St. Louis’ reported interest in Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, but Mozeliak speaks highly of the former first-round pick. “I don’t make lineups but you have to have the understanding of patience,” said Mozeliak. “He’s such a talented defender and when your team is built around groundball pitching it’s nice to have that behind you.” Mozeliak and Matheny have both called Wong a “Gold Glove-caliber everyday second baseman,” Goold notes. Wong tells Goold that he’s trying his best to put a poor 2016 season behind him and has been working out with former teammate Jon Jay, focusing specifically on speed and explosiveness rather than adding muscle. Wong has $24.25MM remaining on the five-year, $25.5MM extension he inked last March.
More from the NL Central…
- Ivan Nova called the decision to return to the Pirates “an easy choice” at today’s conference call announcing his signing, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Nova said that his preference all along was to return to Pittsburgh after enjoying his two-month stint there to close out the season and expressed excitement over the opportunity to return. GM Neal Huntington told the media that Nova has long been a target of the Pirates’ front office. “There are reasons we tried to acquire him in past offseasons, in past trade deadlines,” said Huntington. “…our hope was that this could turn into a prolonged relationship and a situation where he’d want to stay here. For us, thankfully, he did.” Huntington added that he’s still open to improving the rotation if it makes sense “in the big picture as well as the short-term” — the Pirates are rumored to have interest in White Sox ace Jose Quintana — but retaining Nova does give the Bucs some stability. Brink notes that Chad Kuhl appears to have an inside track on the fourth spot behind Nova, Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon, though there’ll be a sizable competition for the final two rotation spots.
- Speaking of competition, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy breaks down the Brewers’ upcoming closer battle, listing right-handers Corey Knebel, Carlos Torres and Jacob Barnes as internal options to pitch in the ninth inning. As McCalvy notes, the Brewers have seen Jeremy Jeffress, Will Smith and Tyler Thornburg — all traded in the past six months — emerge as late-inning arms that were acquired by means other than lucrative free-agent deals. The Brewers have been in contact with the representatives for seasoned free-agent closers, but there’s no guarantee they’ll sign any of the remaining available options (e.g. Santiago Casilla, Sergio Romo, Greg Holland).
- The Reds are monitoring the market for veteran catchers, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com in his latest Reds Inbox. Devin Mesoraco and Tucker Barnhart project to split time behind the dish in Cincinnati next year, but health has been a major factor for Mesoraco, who caught just 18 games from 2015-16 due largely to hip surgery. Rule 5 pick Stuart Turner (out of the Twins organization) is also an option, Sheldon notes, though he’s behind both Mesoraco and Barnhart. Sheldon also notes that he asked newly minted president of baseball ops Dick Williams about the possibility of signing Greg Holland recently, and while Williams sidestepped a specific comment on Holland, he said the team is looking to add relievers on potential value deals. “A lot of times it comes from a guy who has missed time from an injury or had a bad year,” said Williams. Certainly, Holland would fit that bill after missing the 2016 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Sheldon also tackles questions about playing time for Jose Peraza and notes that he considers trades of Anthony DeSclafani and/or Dan Straily unlikely.
I don;t know, I’ve always felt Wong was a bit overrated. I hope he proves me wrong this year
I felt the same way. Although I’ve been wrong many times. Was last year his sophomore season? Sophomore slump?
You mean you’ve been wong hahahahaha
no, he wasn’t wong, he was wight
That was the first thing that popped into my head too!
Wasn’t he wainwright?
No pretty much his 3rd full season since debuting the last part of 2013. Although he has had stints in the minors over the last few years from underperforming.
I don’t think he’s necessarily over-rated… He obviously has the skill-set… but this kid always says the right thing and does the wrong thing. At a certain point you get tired of it. “Oh I know what to do now, it’s going to be great!” Well… do you? Is it? This is the last season for my patience with Wong–it’s put-up or shut-up time.
*don’t* My bad for the misspell
I totally agree! Still looking at trade rumors to see where that true #4 hitter is going to come from??????
He’s not overrated. He just try to hard sometimes. I feel like if he eliminated that high leg kick, he would be a better hitter to.
I think he is the one trade bait the cardinals have! Mo doesnt have the cohonies to make a big deal. Mo must go!
Unless a closer type wants a make-good deal on the cheap, there’s little reason for Milwaukee to sign a free agent for the ninth inning.
Simply having the depth to get through the season — something the Reds and Twins lacked in 2016, for instance — and also the possibility of flipping said reliever this summer are both good enough reasons.
Fair enough, as long as the salary is not outrageous. Even a one-year contract in this market could be a waste of resources.
What do you think the Brewers are trying to do? If they can get an ex-closer on the cheap like Casilla or Holland who is trying to rebuild their value, they’ll go for it. If not, they’ll stick with internal options.
Same story different year for Wong. I think the Cardinals are trying to convince themselves more than anything. It is good to see him focusing on speed, he hit a lot of early homers in his career and it hurt him going forward.
Mo and Matheny have a mind-meld about Wong. They must justify the Cards’ silly $25 mill extension of Wong that was a gross misjudgment of his ability to succeed. So Matheny must plug him into the lineup while both he and Mo cross their fingers that he’s better than AAAA-level.
Plus, Wong’s trade value is nil because of the albatross contract and the fact that other GMs and scouts see his faults.
nothing about that contract is an albatross.
Nah, just $5 mill+ per year for 5 years for a mediocre, glove-only, one-position guy. Just pocket change.
above league average offensive and defensive production for $5mm. Yeah, it’s a decent contract. I’m not sure you know what albatross means.
Trade value nil? Ha! It was plenty of teams asking about his availability this offseason.
Yes, they all were hoping their rivals would trade for him.
Seriously, if “It was plenty of teams”, why is he not traded? Maybe they wanted to give only what he’s worth — a couple of B-prospects or a TJ project.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the Cards’ FO planted those supposed inquiries.
Oh wait, the Cards’ FO are choir boys. They’d never cheat….
It was an interesting case with nova this off season. I personally always liked him but getting out of Yankee stadium was his best case scenario.
It seems to me that most Cardinal fans are ready to move on from Wong. I truly thought last year was going to be his breakout season, and then before the season even started I heard that he was lobbying to be the leadoff hitter. I knew then that he still wasn’t mature enough to “live up to his potential. ” A trade may be exactly what he needs to get his attention. I still believe in him, but he needs to stay calm and collective and avoid beating himself up when something doesn’t go his way. He can do it if he just trust himself. It really needs to be this year or the Cards need to move on in my mind.
I feel sorry for the fanbase of any team that signs Casilla to be their closer. Watching that guy implode over and over again in high leverage situations last year eventually cost me a broken TV screen. Why Bochy waited for the Dodgers to overcome a 10 game deficit before making a change is beyond me, and is frankly unacceptable from a HOF bound manager. His mismanagement of not only the bullpen, but not knowing when to pull starters last season was as much to blame for the collapse in the second half as the lack of talent in the pen to begin with in my opinion.
to a rebuilding team taking the Red’s approach to letting young player mature, but having the pen blow it anyway is perfect for him? Sign him Brewers
I think Wong needs a change of scenery. Cardinals need to show fan base they are serious about being able to catch the Cubs or they will find empty seats at Busch stadium. Dozier would be great. With the new TV deal money should not be a problem
Dozier isn’t expensive, that’s part of why he’s going to cost a good amount to acquire in a trade.
Wong is easy to like as a fan.
He’s such a good guy, he’s always trying and has a ton of heart. And he always hustles.
But he goes through spells where he rolls over on everything and you can tell he is so over matched at the plate.
The talent is there for him to be a .290/.350/.450 second basemen with plus defense.
But he gets pull happy and then starts rolling over on outside pitches. Then he’s slumping and is down 0-2 before he can get an at bat in. And his swing choice has looked like he’s guessing rather than seeing and hitting good pitches.
I have faith in him. But fortunately Gyroko and Carpenter are around that if he doesn’t figure it out, the team has options.
Dozier is a good player and we’d love to have him. But I don’t see the fit or huge need.
I’d love to see some upgrades to the roster and a true cleanup hitter. But I doubt the price for Dozier makes any of that realistic.
The rest of the league hasn’t seen Wong’s “talent”, so he’s worth very little on the trade market, especially with that fat contract.
You mean the rest of the leagues fans. you have no idea what scouts and gm’s of the rest of the league think. a message board of armchair general managers is not an accurate indication of talent evaluation.
His contract has an AAV of $5M, which is not a big commitment in the game’s current market. While it doesn’t look great at the moment, that extension bought out Wong’s arbitration year and some FA years at a fixed, relatively cheap cost. If he develops into a solid, everyday player, that contract becomes extremely valuable. But even if he doesn’t, I wouldn’t say it’s an “albatross” or a “fat contract.”
Arbitration years*
IF he develops.
In three years he’s shown NO signs of developing beyond AAAA-level. He’s Gordon Beckham 2.0. Also hear his attitude isn’t good.
Cards are trying to inflate his value so they can dump him.
IF? IF pigs could fly, we’d all be covered with pigsh*t.
Every contract is a gamble. Locking in a guy for $5M is not a detrimental contract. Based on your comments throughout this thread, you clearly have an extremely negatively biased view on Wong, so there’s really nothing to debate there. My point was trying to explain the mindset behind that “albatross” of a contract, not to determine whether Wong will ever reach his potential. It was a move to create cost certainty, which it did. As I said, in today’s MLB market, $5M a year is not a significant commitment to a player.
If the Pirates can trade Cutch to get the prospects to deal for Quintana with the Pirates adding some to it, great, go for it.
If not, then pass.
Cole Taillon Nova is a good top 3. Kuhl showed a lot. Give Glasnow a chance to win the #5 spot. If not, Brault or Williams or Hutchison can fight for the last spot.
Trading their blue chips for Quintana when one Tommy John could cripple their franchise is not a good move.
I agree with you 100%. I wouldn’t trade any major prospects to get Quintana. They should have a pretty solid rotation without him.
A rebuilding team needs to sign holland. They probably have payroll to spare, and if holland returns to what he used to be your gonna get a nice haul at the deadline. If not, you don’t lose much. I’ll be praising whichever team signs him if it’s a rebuilding one
The Cardinals needs to trade or sign a free agent for either a true cleanup hitter or a front line pitcher such as the White Sox’s lefty Quintana. I truly hope Mo follows through on his own commitment comments. As for Wong, the key to him is getting to play consistently. I noticed in Mo’s comments that he must feel the same way when he said “I don’t make out the lineup”. It’s a fact that if you are in Matheney’s dog house, you don’t play! If you’re one of his favorites, you can hit .125 and still start the next game!
Wong hasn’t gotten consistent play because he sucks! How much suckage do you wanna put up with before you kill the teams chances?? Do you even watch the games?? He’s been awful for 3 years now! Man learn the game or follow another sport! Smfh
Agreed, I want to see him gone. He does have glimpses of being a very good defensive player- but that’s just it, they are glimpses. He bobbles routine balls then he mentally is out for the rest of the game. He is a head case. I just think we have seen the best of what Wong has to offer and he is not all of a sudden going to be this star that the Cards organization thinks he can be.
I would not be sad to see Wong go, especially if it meant we got Dozer.
Yes, his large ego will never allow him to reach his potential!
Wong is not what you think he is, he’s an ass, He won’t sign for kids ( or anyone else ) If he were as good as he thinks he is he would be in the hall of fame . Ship his ass out of town, the Brewers or some other crappy team can always use a hot dog tool !
well, dad said it. it must be true
Wong, “a gold glove caliber 2B”? Such bullshit! Why was he moved to CF last year then? Mozeliak trying desperately to increase Wong’s trade value in hope of landing Dozier in return because he foolishly gave him an undeserved extension very prematurely (just like Allen Craig). Good luck with that.
Touche’. You nailed Mo’s motivations right there. Cards fans are in denial again.