The Baltimore Orioles announced Wednesday that they’ve signed veteran second baseman Kolten Wong to a minor league deal. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that Wong will join their big league camp as a non-roster invitee. Wong split the 2023 season between the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers, batting .184 with 41 hits, four home runs, 27 RBI and a .519 OPS. Wong will join his fifth team during his 11-year career.
The news comes hours after Baltimore signed veteran pitcher Julio Teherán on a minor league deal.
Orioles Sign Kolten Wong
Wong struggled mightily over the season, hitting .165/.241/.227 as a Mariner. But when he was a Dodger he was batting .300/.355/.500 with a pair of home runs. Wong struggled with three different pitches the sinker, curveball and sweeper. First, out of 128 sinkers seen, Wong recorded a 0.61 batting average, striking out against the sinker about 18 percent of the time. The two-time Gold Glove Award winner had a .130 batting average and with two strikes he struck out 33 percent of the time facing the curve. Finally, he put up a .143 batting average against the sweeper. Kolten dominated against the fastball putting up a .311 batting average and a slugging percentage of .459. If Kolten wants to be successful in 2024, he’ll have to be better prepared against off-speed and breaking ball pitches.
Before last season, Wong had been a consistent source at the plate. On defense, he was the game’s premier option at second base. He has never been a power-hitter or speed bat, but he does have five seasons of double-digit home runs along with five seasons of double-digit stolen bases. Baltimore has the veteran utility depth in Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo. If the Orioles want a veteran left-handed bat off the bench, Wong could be that option.
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