Free Agent ex-Dodger Signs With NL West Rival

Maren Angus-Coombs | Apr 12, 2024

Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced the signing of Kolten Wong to a minor league contract on Thursday and assigned him to Triple-A Reno.

Wong was in spring training with the Baltimore Orioles, but a .200/.294/.400 showing wasn’t enough to crack a competitive Baltimore infield. Instead of joining the Orioles' MLB roster, Wong triggered an opt-out in his minor league deal five days before Opening Day and was granted his release.

The second baseman played 67 games for the Seattle Mariners last season before he was designated for assignment at midseason and signed on with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 20 games. It was, by far, the worst season of his career offensively. Wong slashed .183/.256/.263 across 87 contests between the Mariners and Dodgers. However, he did hit .300 with a pair of homers in 34 trips to the plate in L.A.

A two-time Gold Glove Award winner at second base, where he’s made 1,105 of his 1,122 big league appearances, Wong is willing to play wherever. He’s made MLB appearances at shortstop and all three outfield spots, and this spring he appeared at third base.

“That’s just how the trend is going nowadays, is being versatile. I told them, ‘I can play the outfield, too. I got time in the outfield as well,’” Wong said on March 8. “I think that’s one thing everybody overlooks, is the fact that I’ve been second base my whole career, but I’ve also played other positions, and feel I can play other ones, too.”

Wong was a first-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 and spent parts of eight seasons there, appearing in 852 games and slashing .261/.333/.384 with a .717 OPS. He signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent ahead of the 2021 season and then was traded to the Seattle Mariners in Dec. 2022.