Kolten Wong #25 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his solo home run to trail 6-1 to the San Diego Padres during the ninth inning in a 6-1 loss at Dodger Stadium on September 13, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Major League veteran second baseman Kolton Wong to a minor league contract, the Triple-A affiliate Reno Aces reported on April 10. Wong will be assigned to Triple-A Reno.
Wong, 33, was born in Hilo, Hawaii, and played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2013-20, the Milwaukee Brewers from 2021-22, the Seattle Mariners in 2023, and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023.
Wong won the Gold Glove Award in 2019 and 2020 and the Fielding Bible Award in three consecutive seasons from 2018-20.
During spring training with the Baltimore Orioles organization, Wong played in 12 games with 34 plate appearances and batted .200 with six hits, one double, one triple, one home run, four RBI, four walks, and three strikeouts before he signed with Arizona.
Wong signed a minor league contract with the Orioles on February 28, which included an invite to big league camp.
Last season, the left-handed hitter started the year with the Mariners and played in 67 games, hitting .165 with 216 plate appearances, smacking 32 hits, six doubles, two home runs, 19 RBI, 16 walks, 46 strikeouts, and a .468 OPS before he was released on August 3, 2023.
Wong signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers on August 9, 2023, and was assigned to the Arizona Rookie Complex Level league on the same day.
The Dodgers did not activate him until September 1. Wong played in 20 games to finish 2024 and batted .300 with 34 plate appearances, recording nine hits, two home runs, eight RBI, two stolen bases, two walks, and seven strikeouts before he elected free agency on November 2.
During the 2022 season, Wong played in 134 games with the Brewers and hit .251 in 497 plate appearances, smacking 108 hits, 24 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs, 47 RBI, 17 stolen bases, 46 walks, 88 strikeouts, and a .770 OPS.
Wong signed a two-year contract with the Brewers on February 5, 2021 for $18 million, including a club option for the 2023 season. He was traded to the Mariners on December 2, 2022, in exchange for left fielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Abraham Toro going to the Brewers.
In his first season with Milwaukee, Wong played 116 games with a .272 average in 492 plate appearances, ripping 121 hits, 32 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 50 RBI, swiping 12 bases, 31 walks, 83 strikeouts, and a .783 OPS.
During his 11 MLB seasons, Wong has played in 1,189 games with a lifetime average of .256 in 4,283 plate appearances, smacking 973 hits, 186 doubles, 31 triples, 86 home runs, 405 RBI, 120 stolen bases, 328 walks, 687 strikeouts, and a .719 OPS.
Wong has played 8,807 innings in 11 MLB seasons defensively at second base in 1,105 appearances and 982 starts and has had 4,599 chances, 1,766 putouts, 2,743 assists, 90 errors, turning 670 double plays, and a .980 fielding percentage.
Wong is currently not on the Diamondbacks 40-man roster.
