Kolten Wong of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a one RBI single in the second inning during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Liv Lyons/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The Baltimore Orioles signed second baseman Kolten Wong to a minor league contract, which includes a non-roster invite to Major League camp, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported on Wednesday.
Wong, 33, was born in Hilo, Hawaii, and has 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 has won the Gold Glove Award in 2019 and 2020.
He elected free agency on Nov.2, 2023 before he signed with Baltimore.
Last season, the left-handed hitter started in Seattle and played in 67 games, batting .165 over 216 plate appearances with 32 hits, six doubles, two home runs, 19 RBI, 16 walks, 46 strikeouts, and a .468 OPS before he was released on Aug. 3.
Wong signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 9 and was assigned to the Arizona Complex League to rehab. Wong played in two games at the complex league level, had five plate appearances and did not record a hit, walking once and striking out once before he was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 26.
Wong played in three games with Triple-A Oklahoma City, batting .539 with seven hits, two doubles, one home run, six RBI, one walk, and one strikeout before being activated by Los Angeles on Sept. 1. He played in 20 games with the Dodgers and batted .300 with nine hits, two home runs, eight RBI, two stolen bases, two walks, and seven strikeouts before he elected free agency.
In 2022, Wong played in 134 games with Milwaukee and made 497 plate appearances, hitting .251 with 108 hits, 24 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs, 47 RBI, swiping 17 bases, 46 walks, 88 strikeouts, and a .770 OPS before he was traded to Seattle on Dec. 2, 2022, in exchange for left fielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Abraham Toro.
Wong landed on the 10-day injured list on June 11, 2022 with a right calf strain before he was sent to High-A Wisconsin on June 25, 2022.
In Wong’s 11 seasons in MLB, he has played in 1,189 games with a lifetime average of .256 and 973 hits, 186 doubles, 31 triples, 86 home runs, 405 RBI, 120 stolen bases, 328 walks, 687 strikeouts, and a .719 OPS.
Wong will be competing with Tyler Nevin, Nick Maton, and Ramon Urias for a depth role in the Orioles’ infield.
The Orioles will play the Los Angeles Angels in their first game of the 2024 regular season at home on March 28 at 3:05 p.m. EDT.
