The Dodgers have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran second baseman Kolten Wong, per their transaction log at MLB.com. The PSI Sports Management client has been assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Wong, 32, signed a two-year, $18MM contract with the Brewers in the 2020-21 offseason. Milwaukee picked up a $10MM club option for the 2023 season last November but ultimately traded the second baseman to Seattle in a deal that netted Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro. The deal hasn’t panned out for either party; Wong struggled to the point that he was released earlier this month, while Winker has spent considerable time on the injured list and struggled to a .199/.320/.247 output when healthy. Toro has hit well in 21 plate appearances for the Brewers but has spent the majority of the season in Triple-A Nashville.
The Mariners acquired Wong in hopes of adding a productive left-handed bat who could hold down the fort at second base for at least one season. Wong had perhaps the two best offensive seasons of his career with the Brewers in 2021-22, batting a combined .262/.337/.439 with 29 home runs, 56 doubles, six triples and 29 steals in 989 trips to the plate.
Wong, a two-time Gold Glove winner who was once regarded as the sport’s premier defender at his position, had an uncharacteristically shaky season on the defensive end of the game in 2022, however. Last year’s 17 errors were more than he’d committed in the three prior seasons combined and tied a career-worst mark from 2015 — his second big league season. Statcast pegged him at 10 outs below average with the glove.
While Wong scaled back the errors in Seattle, he still drew below-average grades defensively, and the offensive gains he’d made in Milwaukee evaporated. The Mariners gave him a surprising amount of leash, but in 216 plate appearances he’s been one of the game’s least effective hitters in 2023, batting .165/.241/.227 with a career-worst 21.7% strikeout rate and a career-low 85.8 mph average exit velocity.
The Mariners will remain on the hook for the rest of Wong’s $10MM salary, so the Dodgers would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time he spends on the Major League roster. With a resurgent performance from Jason Heyward in right field and with David Peralta bouncing back from a dismal start to the season in left, Los Angeles has been able to move Mookie Betts to the infield to handle the bulk of the workload at second base since struggling top prospect Miguel Vargas was optioned. Between Betts, Vargas, Amed Rosario, Chris Taylor and prospect Michael Busch, the Dodgers are hardly lacking for depth at second base. Still, Wong will give them some extra insurance in the event of injuries. And, if the Dodgers can get him back on track, he’s signed with the organization early enough (i.e. prior to Sept. 1) to be eligible for postseason play — should they succeed in restoring him to prior form.
The Dodgers now have more 2nd basemen than the Padres have shortstops.
So you are saying that was the Wong move?
Really the wong move, even a minor league deal? Enlighten me.
I think you’re forgetting to factor in the shortstops the padres have in the minors lol
If you are comparing the Dodgers’ acquiring multiple items at the Dollar store to the Padres unwise expenditures of hundreds of millions for a premium position that was unneeded, sure.
Strictly from a position conversation. Not dollars. MLBTR forgot to add Kike Hernandez to the list too
At least the Padres SS’s can hit
Or in theory, at least…
The price is Wong BOB!
Wong would be the only natural 2nd baseman. Everybody else is a utility fielder.
Wong Wong. Shoulda brought back Connor.
You know what they say about two wongs.
Equals a giant Gong that never stops dinging
I predicted ATL. I’m not good at that.
So far Abraham Toro has been the biggest piece of the Wong/Winker trade. Not saying much tho as he’s the only one that hasn’t hurt his team. Sometimes when both teams have a player they want to get rid of it results in a double flop and the teams see why the other wanted out to begin with. Sometimes you’re better off with your own garbage than with anothers, turns out.
Dig this move. If he sucks, no worries, but if he gets back to form….
Sometimes players aren’t motivated where they are currently for whatever reason. For Wong to fall that far that quick maybe it’s just something like attitude.
He’s a real wong shot.
“With a resurgent performance from Jason Heyward in right field”
Hitting .247 is resurgent. Man, the bar is low.
OPS+ of 114 after two straight years under 70, no one really saw that coming from a 33-year-old on a minor league deal. Avg is a boomer stat
Whatever, on the boomer stat.
1.0 WAR this season for $720k is a steal.
For a guy making the MLB minimum playing above avg def hitting .250 with some pop and speed. That is great.
Robin hasn’t watched any Dodgers games. Heyward is having a solid year by any standard
Next up Carson Kelly
I’ve got zero problems with Jason Heyward this season. He isn’t expected to carry a team, makes the plays on D, and is way better at the plate than in past seasons. As a plus, there are a bunch of guys in the clubhouse who love this guy for his leadership and all around good guy attitude, which is probably worth more to a long season than anyone would expect attitude and leadership to be. See, Padres, White Sox and any other team playing worse than they should be.
Welcome to the Dodgers, keep an eye on him
I’m gonna keep an eye on you.
How good is he going to do? Wong answers only.
Dodgers have a magical way of transforming piles of dog crap into useful players, but this will be the truest test of that magic. Anyone who watched Wong in SEA this year can attest to that. His performance on both sides of the ball have been in free fall all year. If the Dodgers can’t fix him, nobody can.
Their hitting coach is the cheating dude from
Boston. There, solved it for you.
I understand that LA owes Wong the ML minimum for anytime he spends in the majors. But what about when he’s in the minors? Does he get anything?
He’ll still be paid by Seattle. The mlb contract is guaranteed. It’s undoubtedly more than the prorated amount of the AAA salary of 38,500
Dodgers make players KISS. Keep it simple stupid. They’ll focus on shortening his swing and building up his confidence. Same with Kiki Hernandez and Lance Lynn
Yeah, tell that to Joey Gallo. Apparently, Joey didnt get the Memo and continue to swing like he did in Brooklyn, and cost the Dodgers a good prospect
I hope he finds success. He wasn’t good in Seattle but seemed to maintain a good attitude and was a good teammate during his brief stay there.
The only thing that could be more wong than signing Wong would be if the Dodgers signed Wang Chung to play 2nd.
if he finds something and can bridge the gap to either Vargas or the next free agent the team is ahead of the game once again.
right now its Kike, Mookie and Rosario covering the spot so a natural defensive guy at the position would be nice and let other guys do utility things elsewhere
If you use “and” to start a sentence, it should NOT have a comma after it. Seriously, how come you MLBTR writers won’t learn this basic punctuation rule? Hire an editor.