Seattle Mariners Designate Struggling Veteran Infielder Kolten Wong For Assignment

With the MLB trade deadline drawing most of the attention on Tuesday, the Mariners removed Wong from their 40-man roster.

The Seattle Mariners designated second baseman Kolten Wong for assignment on Tuesday, according to the team's transaction log.

The Mariners made several moves over the past few days, starting by trading closer Paul Sewald to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for outfielder Dominic Canzone and infielder Josh Rojas on Monday. Seattle sent center fielder AJ Pollack and second baseman Mark Mathias to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later a few hours later.

Just ahead of Tuesday's MLB trade deadline, the Mariners flipped High-A reliever Logan Rinehart to the Baltimore Orioles for right-handed reliever Eduard Bazardo. Recent trade addition Trent Thornton also got recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, while Canzone and Rojas officially joined the team.

To make room for the new faces, Seattle removed Wong from its 40-man roster and optioned right-handed pitcher Juan Then and outfielder Taylor Trammell to Triple-A.

Wong was hitting .165 with two home runs, six doubles, 19 RBI, one stolen base and a .468 OPS through 67 games this season – his first with the Mariners. The 32-year-old was in the final year of his three-year, $26 million contract, which Seattle took on when it traded for Wong in December.

Before winding up in Seattle, Wong was the St. Louis Cardinals' first round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft. Wong became the No. 1 infielder and No. 2 overall prospect in the Cardinals' system, and he made it to the majors just in time for St. Louis' NL pennant season in 2013.

Wong finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2014, and he would remain the Cardinals' everyday starting second baseman until 2020. In that time, Wong hit .261 with a .717 OPS, all while racking up 53 homers, 124 doubles, 25 triples, 281 RBI, 88 stolen bases, two Gold Gloves and a 16.5 WAR.

After getting bought out and sent to free agency in 2021, Wong joined the Milwaukee Brewers. Wong spent two seasons in Milwaukee, hitting .262 with 29 home runs, 56 doubles, six triples, 97 RBI, 29 stolen bases, a .776 OPS and a 6.5 WAR.

Wong must now wait seven days to either get traded or placed on irrevocable waivers. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, Wong would be optioned to the minor leagues, which he has the ability to reject.

In the week leading up to him getting DFAd, Wong was hitting .250 with a home run, three RBI and a .688 OPS.

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