Diamondbacks sign two-time Gold Glove winner

The Diamondbacks have signed second baseman Kolten Wong to a minor league contract, as announced by their Triple-A team in Reno. He’ll head to the Snakes’ top affiliate.

Wong was in camp with the Orioles this spring. A .200/.294/.400 showing wasn’t enough to crack a competitive Baltimore infield. The O’s granted Wong his release rather than add him to the MLB roster after he triggered an opt-out in his minor league deal five days before the start of the season.

A veteran of 11 big league campaigns, Wong will try to get back to the majors in Arizona. The 33-year-old had suggested at the end of camp that he was unlikely to pursue minor league opportunities if he didn’t make the O’s roster. He has evidently decided to give things another go, likely in the hope of securing a bench role.

Wong doesn’t offer a ton of defensive flexibility. He has logged nearly 9000 innings at second base but has never started an MLB game at another infield spot. His outfield experience consists of 106 frames with the Cardinals eight years ago. Arizona has Ketel Marte locked in at second base but has dealt with injuries on the other side of the bag. Geraldo Perdomo suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee that required surgical repair. Top prospect Jordan Lawlar previously sustained a thumb issue that’ll cost him a few months. That leaves rookie Blaze Alexander and glove-first veteran Kevin Newman as the shortstop options in the majors.

While Wong probably won’t be considered for a spot on the left side of the infield, Newman’s promotion took an experienced infielder off the Reno roster. Wong is a two-time Gold Glove winner at the keystone, yet his defensive metrics have dropped off within the last two years. He remained an above-average hitter as recently as 2022, when he connected on a personal-high 15 homers with a .251/.339/.430 slash for the Brewers.

Last season was the worst of his career, as he managed just a .183/.256/.263 line in 87 contests between the Mariners and Dodgers. To his credit, Wong rebounded in a very brief sample in L.A. He had turned in a dismal .165/.241/.227 mark with Seattle before being released. After catching on with the Dodgers, he hit .300 with a pair of homers in 34 trips to the plate.