The St. Louis Cardinals have announced second baseman Kolten Wong has been optioned to Memphis, which opens a roster spot for Jhonny Peralta–who is expected to be activated from the disabled list tomorrow.
Playing time was going to be more difficult for Wong with Peralta’s return as Matt Carpenter is going to slide to the right side of the infield to allow Peralta to play third and keep Aledmys Diaz at shortstop.
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This past Friday, as General Manager John Mozeliak laid out the likely shuffle with Peralta’s return, I asked if he still viewed Kolten Wong as the long-term answer at second base.
“I certainly think he’s a large part of our future,” answered Mozeliak. “Now when you define future as the next couple of weeks, obviously we’re going to just try and mix in some new faces right now and see how we look. But long term, I still think Kolten Wong’s going to be an excellent Major League player.”
“Hey, whatever they want me to do I’ll be ready,” said Wong before Sunday’s game. “If that means me going somewhere else, then that’s the case.”
But that was a reference to another position, not the idea of being sent down to Memphis.
Before settling in at second base, Wong played centerfield and shortstop in college–even getting behind the plate. But while he is willing to do so again for more at-bats, a move isn’t likely.
“Second base has really been the focus with Kolten,” said Mike Matheny, who noted Wong is a good enough athlete but his present position is the right fit. “Has been for a long time, haven’t seen him at other positions.”
Wong was batting .222 (28-136) in 49 games this season, but prior to the last road trip had been trending upwards–hitting .308 (12-39) in the twelve games leading up to May 25th. Since then he has two hits in 19 at-bats.
“I have nothing but the utmost confidence in myself and I know how good of a player I can be,” said Wong. “It’s just allowing myself to figure things out and keep grinding away.”
“It’s just baseball,” he continued. “It’s just one of those years where no matter what you’re doing things just aren’t going your way. Eventually, things will turn and luckily there’s two parts of the season and I’ve got still got the second part to look forward to and still a little bit of this part. Whenever I get a chance to get in there, I’ll be ready.”
photo credit: Bill Greenblatt/UPI, Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
