The Arizona Diamondbacks have released two-time Gold Glove winner Kolten Wong. The veteran infielder was playing with their Triple-A affiliate in Reno after signing a minor league contract. Wong, 33, entered the 2024 season aiming to improve on his rough 2023 performance, where he batted .183/.256/.263 over 250 plate appearances with the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. He had signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles for spring training but opted out when he didn’t make the Opening Day roster.
The Diamondbacks have released IF Kolten Wong who has been with the Reno Aces. #Dbacks
— Aaron Hughes (@AaronrHughes) May 28, 2024
Kolten Wong Released by the Diamondbacks
Wong later signed another minor league deal with the D-backs on April 10. In 31 games, he posted a .271/.339/.383 batting line in Triple-A’s Pacific Coast League, showing some power with two home runs, six doubles, and two stolen bases. His strikeout and walk rates improved slightly, dropping to 18.2 percent and rising to 8.3 percent, respectively, from last year’s 21.2 percent and 7.2 percent. Wong is just a season removed from a respectable .251/.339/.430 performance with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022.
While you are working, Kolten Wong is ripping RBI doubles down the line for the lead 🙌 pic.twitter.com/RiXCxmEWxT
— Reno Aces (@Aces) April 23, 2024
Wong as an Above-Average Second Baseman
From 2017-22, Wong was a solid second baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals, hitting a combined .269/.349/.414 with 54 home runs and 72 steals. His overall performance from 2014-22 was similar, with a .263/.336/.401 slash line. However, Arizona didn’t need additional help at second base, as Ketel Marte is hitting .275/.322/.493 this season. Other second base options on the 40-man roster are also ahead of Wong on the depth chart, but he could still be valuable to another team.
Possible Landing Spots
Teams like the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Angels could benefit from Wong’s experience. He would be a strong depth option or even an immediate big-league replacement, allowing a team to send a struggling young player back to Triple-A for further development. Following his release by the Orioles, Wong expressed disinterest in signing another minor league contract. “I’ve got 10 years in this already,” Wong told Jake Rill of MLB.com. “I don’t plan on going down to the minor leagues after this. Whatever happens, happens.”
