Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong (16) throws to first for double play during the eighth inning of a game against the Dodgers on Aug. 22, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong (16) throws to first for double play during the eighth inning of a game against the Dodgers on Aug. 22, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Wong looking to return to Gold Glove form with Mariners

The 32-year-old two-time Gold Glove winner committed an MLB-worst 17 errors at second base last season.

  • By Ryan Divish The Seattle Times
  • Friday, February 10, 2023 2:22pm
  • SportsMariners

By Ryan Divish / The Seattle Times

Going into the 2021 season, the Seattle Mariners were in the process of stabilizing their situation at second base, heavily courting free agent Kolten Wong to come in as a finishing piece to their rebuild.

“We were close to getting a deal done,” he said.

Wong, a native of Hawaii, preferred to stay closer to the West Coast after being drafted (first round in 2011) and developed by the Cardinals, playing eight major league seasons in St. Louis.

After the Mariners offered a two-year deal to Wong, the Brewers came in with a higher annual salary and a club option for a third season. The Mariners couldn’t match that, or weren’t allowed to match under a budget set by former president Kevin Mather, and their solution at second base went elsewhere.

Two years later, the Mariners will turn to Wong, now 32, to handle the second-base duties for the 2023 season.

With Adam Frazier exiting as a free agent after the season, the Mariners acquired Wong and $1.75 million from the Brewers in exchange for outfielder Jesse Winker and infielder Abraham Toro.

As we continue our Mariners position overviews, here’s a look at second base:

“I’m excited,” Wong said. “I’m at the point in my career now where I’m trying to win a ring. Obviously seeing what Seattle was able to do last year, the excitement they brought throughout baseball last year, it was definitely something that made me as a player excited to come here.”

Wong is coming off a productive 2022 season with Milwaukee, where he posted a .251/.339/.430 slash line with 24 doubles, four triples, 15 homers, 65 runs scored, 47 RBI, 17 stolen bases, 46 walks and 88 strikeouts in 134 games. Per FanGraphs, he posted a 2.5 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), which would’ve been higher if not for defensive metrics that lowered the overall measure.

Admittedly, Wong had one of the worst defensive years of his career. He committed 17 errors, the most of any second baseman in baseball, which was absurd considering he was a Gold Glove-winning second baseman in 2019 and 2020.

“Defensively, it was a really down year for me,” he said. “I’m always gonna kind of go to my flaws before I go to the successes. It is something that I’ve been working hard on this year.”

When he was traded, Wong immediately got in touch with infield guru Perry Hill.

“I’m excited to get with him in the next few weeks,” Wong said. “I’m excited to get with him already. I don’t want to wait till spring training. I don’t want to wait around and waste time. I want to start as soon as possible.”

Wong believes that the new rules banning shifts in baseball will be to his advantage and help him find his feel on ground balls again.

“I feel like not having to shift is definitely going to make it better for me,” he said. “I was put in some situations last year where I just wasn’t comfortable and got some weird hops. I’m excited to play with no shifts.”

Why will it help?

“I’m a guy that I like to use my feet,” he said. “I like to be able to not calculate my stance, but just understand what foot is important to catch the baseball. And sometimes when you’re put in those weird positions, you’re kind of put in a standstill and there was a lot of balls last year where it hit to me in such a weird position that I wasn’t able to kind of like really work around it and get through it.”

The Mariners would like to not use Wong with tough left-handed starting pitchers on the mound. They will look to use Dylan Moore on those occasions if he isn’t already filling in for J.P. Crawford at shortstop.

If Wong can return to his previous defensive form, the Mariners will have plus defenders at every position in the infield. He reached out to Crawford almost immediately after being traded.

“I talked to him for a little bit and I’m very excited,” Wong said. “You watch him play and you see a guy who’s out there grinding every single day and who plays the game the right way. He has that swagger. And defensively, he’s one of the premier guys you want to watch. I feel like me and him up the middle, it’s kind of the same guy on both sides with the same mentality.”

Wong will be a free agent after this season and the Mariners don’t necessarily have a player in their system ready to step in to be an everyday player in 2024. Moore, who recently signed a contract extension, is most valuable as a utility player who can be used all over and against left-handed pitchers.

Perhaps if Wong plays well this season, they will look at bringing him back for another season. But it’s likely they will have to look outside of the organization in 2024.

Talk to us

More in Sports

Washington's Sami Reynolds runs the bases against McNeese during an NCAA softball game on Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Local softball stars Reynolds, Mahler set for WCWS

Washington’s Sami Reynolds (Snohomish) and Stanford’s River Mahler (Monroe) each play prominent roles on their Pac-12 teams.

Alberto Rodriguez.
Rodriguez puts on power display, leads AquaSox to series win

The 22-year-old outfielder mashed 11 extra-base hits, including six home runs, as Everett took five of seven from Eugene.

X
Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for May 22-28

The Athlete of the Week nominees for May 22-28 Voting closes at… Continue reading

Daniel Kim, left, and Ben Borgida, right, chat between holes during the Snohomish County Amateur golf tournament at the Everett Golf and Country Club in Everett, Washington on Monday, May 29, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Kim soars to 4-shot win in 92nd Snohomish County Amateur

The WSU freshman and Kamiak graduate’s 12-under final total was the historic tournament’s lowest since at least 2010.

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge gestures after hitting a solo home-run against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 30, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Caean Couto)
Judge strikes again, Mariners lose to Yankees

Seattle falls 10-2 for a second consecutive lopsided loss.

Cooper Cummings from the United States celebrates after winning a men's downhill during the Cheese Rolling contest at Cooper's Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, Monday May 29, 2023. The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event where participants race down the 200-yard (180 m) long hill chasing a wheel of double gloucester cheese. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arlington High School grad is the big cheese after winning UK race

Cooper Cummings, who grew up in Lake Stevens, defeated a world record-holder in Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake.

Jackson High School is awarded the 2023 WIAA class 4A softball championship trophy in Richland, Wash., on Sat., May 27. (TJ Mullinax/for The Herald)
Jackson wins state title over GP after game called by weather

The Timberwolves win 5-1 to hoist their third state softball trophy since 2018 after a game that ended in unusual fashion.

Lake Stevens’ Grant Buckmiller takes a peek at the clock as he runs to the title in the 4A boys 200 meter dash during the WIAA State Track and Field Championships on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
State track: Lake Stevens sprinter Buckmiller blazes to multiple titles

Also, Kamiak’s Kalia Estes and Jaedyn Chase claim championships and more on local title winners and state placers.

The Yankees’ Aaron Judge jogs the bases after hitting his second home run of the game a Mariners first baseman Ty France looks on during the sixth inning of a game Monday in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Judge homers twice, Yankees clobber Mariners

Rookie standout Bryce Miller struggles against the New York lineup in Seattle’s 10-4 loss.

Most Read