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St. Louis Cardinals: Making The Best of Kolten Wong’s Imminent Situation
Option 2: Minor League assignment
Another action that seems possible more from a present than future standpoint would be optioning Kolten Wong to the minor leagues. Such a change could help Wong correct inconsistencies that led to increased strikeout and error rates in each of the last three seasons.
The Cardinals have already experimented with this by keeping Tommy Pham in Memphis after completing his rehab assignment late-May. But sending Wong on a minor league assignment would be a larger issue because it doesn’t necessarily offer much confidence in the second baseman’s future abilities.
Wong has played pivotal roles on the Cardinals last three playoff rosters, placing third in the 2014 National League Rookie of the Year voting and compiling a 4.3 WAR in his first two full years. Demoting Wong to the minors would question the Cardinals’ system for developing future building blocks, and not allow Wong to make proper pro-level adjustments that may help St. Louis down the stretch.
Thus Peralta and Brandon Moss are the only two Cardinals infielder with contracts ending in the next two years, meaning the middle infield competition will only grow tougher for Wong.
Next: Maybe time to cut bait?