Per Ken Rosenthal, veteran second baseman Kolten Wong has been dealt from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Seattle Mariners.
Mariners acquiring Kolten Wong from Brewers for Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro, sources tell @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 2, 2022
The return package includes outfielder Jesse Winker and infielder Abraham Toro. Wong, 32, was entering the third season of a three-year, $26 million deal. He is set to be paid $10 million in the coming season. Statistically speaking, Wong is coming off a year in which he set career highs in homers (15) and OPS+ (118). He also slashed .251/.339/.430 with an OPS of .770. He had 108 hits in 134 games for the Brewers to go with 24 doubles and 17 stolen bases. Overall, he posted a 3.1 WAR and a 1.5 WAA.
The Career of Kolten Wong
The Minnesota Twins selected Kolten Wong in the 16th round of the 2008 MLB Draft but failed to sign him. The St. Louis Cardinals took Won with the 22nd overall pick in 2011, then chose him. The selection was not without reason, as Wong had hit .358 with 245 hits over three years for the University of Hawaii. He was assigned to the Single-A Quad Cities River Bandits and immediately made an impact, hitting .335 in 47 games. Kolten Wong spent the next two years vaulting through the Cardinals system, eventually finding the big leagues in 2013.
Following a rocky start, Kolten Wong became a mainstay on the Cardinals roster. His 100 hits, 2.4 WAR, and 156 total bases helped him to a third-place finish in the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year voting. He remained somewhat steady, though his best overall season was in 2019. That year, he hit .285 with 136 hits and 202 total bases. He also achieved career bests in WAR (5.1) and dWAR (1.9). The latter helped him to his first back-to-back Gold Glove Awards. After the 2020 season, Kolten Wong signed with the Brewers as a free agent.
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