Mariners Linked To Brewers Infielder

November 17, 2022 ,

The Seattle Mariners aren't done fortifying their lineup just yet. After pulling off a coup on Wednesday to obtain slugger Teoscar Hernandez from the Toronto Blue Jays, they're now inquiring about an infielder who had a very productive year with the bat. 

Just last week, the Brewers picked up the $10M option on Kolten Wong for 2023. 

Wong is coming off a big year with the bat, slugging 15 home runs for the Milwaukee Brewers, while producing a 118 OPS+ (meaning he was 18% more productive than the average big leaguer). 

It was his defense, however, that suffered a puzzling dropoff in 2022. A former two-time Gold Glover, Wong tied for last among all major-league second basemen in errors, with 17. In 2021, his first year with the Brewers, Wong committed just two errors and was a finalist in the Gold Glove balloting.

Wong’s minus-9 Outs Above Average ranked him about 250th among all defenders and his minus-1 defensive runs saved is one of the lowest marks of his career. 

But the Mariners perhaps feel they can get him at a discounted rate in a trade.

"It just makes you want to work that much harder. Put in that much more work to get better and get back to where you want to be," Wong said. "I know I’m not going to make errors like this every year. It’s been a tough year for me, but... I’m going to figure out ways to [fix it]."

The interest in Wong, however, might only be a Plan B for the Mariners, who are thought to be chasing one of the big-name free agent shortstops as well, with the intent to get them to move to 2B (with JP Crawford sticking at SS). 

Photo: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports



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