Former Seattle Mariners' Infielder Willing to Change Positions to Make Another American League Club

After never having appeared in a professional game at third base, veteran Kolten Wong played there on Friday night in an effort to make the Baltimore Orioles' roster.

Veteran infielder Kolten Wong is doing whatever he can to make the Baltimore Orioles' roster, including trying a position he's never played before professionally.

From MLB.com:

The Orioles took Wong up on that offer on Friday night, when the 33-year-old made his professional debut at third base in a 4-3 win over the Tigers at Ed Smith Stadium.

Entering the night, Wong had played in 1,189 regular-season MLB games, 38 postseason contests, 320 Minor League games and 183 Spring Training exhibitions -- and he hadn’t appeared at third base in any of them. 

There's still no guarantee that Wong will make the Orioles' roster, but third base appears to be a spot where he may be able to get some innings if he does. Baltimore has Gunnar Henderson at shortstop this year and No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday possibly at second base, so third base appears to be a battle among Jordan Westburg, Ramon Urias and others.

Wong is an 11-year veteran who has played with the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. He's had an accomplished career, winning two Gold Gloves, but he really did fall off in a big way in 2023.

Traded from the Brewers to the Mariners last offseason, Wong hit .165 with Seattle over 67 games before being released. The team had been hoping that Wong could provide some stability to the position, but he was unable to do so. He did rebound once getting to LA, hitting .300 with two home runs over 30 at-bats. He made the Dodgers' playoff roster as well.

Lifetime, he's a .256 hitter who hit a career-high 15 homers for the Brewers in 2022.

The Orioles won the American League East a season ago with an American League-best 101 wins.

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