Cardinals send Wong to minors
ASSOCIATED PRESS / MAY 22
The Cardinals’ Kolten Wong was sent to the Memphis Redbirds to become their second baseman.
Kolten Wong, a No. 1 draft pick from the University of Hawaii and one of the brightest prospects the Cardinals have had in recent years, no longer is their regular second baseman. He will be the second baseman for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.
Wong hadn’t started five of the past eight games, giving way either to Jedd Gyorko or Greg Garcia, and his average had dropped to .222. On Monday, the Cardinals optioned him to Memphis as they activated shortstop Jhonny Peralta (left thumb surgery) from the disabled list before their game in Cincinnati today.
The Cardinals intend to play Peralta at third base, with third baseman Matt Carpenter moving to second and Aledmys Diaz staying at shortstop. Garcia, who was Wong’s teammate at UH and who has been impressive since being brought back from Memphis, will remain as a utility player.
Wong, on Sunday night, sensed that he might be sent back to the minors for a second time in three seasons.
“Hey, if it is, it is,” he said. “If they feel like they need to put me down there to figure something out …”
Wong will get at least some steady at-bats that way, and he said Sunday, “That would be good. Whatever they decide, I’ll be ready for.”
In 2014, Wong was sent to Memphis for three weeks and hit .344, spring-boarding himself back to the big leagues, and he finished the year with 12 homers and 20 steals at the major league level.
“It (stinks) hitting where I am, so I’m going to do whatever I can to put in the work to get back to where I need to be,” said the 25-year-old Wong, who had 11 homers and 15 stolen bases last year while batting .262. That, and his potential for more, netted him a $25.5 million, five-year contract this spring.
Wong didn’t have consecutive starts in the past 10 days and he said, “Just to get into the rhythm of playing every day would help anyone. I have no say in what’s going to happen and I don’t think I deserve any kind of say right now.”
He said he was confident that, in time, there would be a course correction. “Once I get right, everything will be back to normal,” he said.
But he added, “I don’t deserve to be playing right now.”
11 responses to “Cardinals send Wong to minors”
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Wong should do the right thing and return some of that 25 million. Alright just kidding! But he is stinking up the joint. Peralta is a far superior hitter and it’s no surprise the change was made.
Thats why he will probably be traded
He’ll put the work in and return … Just a matter of tune up!!!
Hope so..he seems like a very nice person.
Then why did you call him mediocre you of seven faces?
huh?
In the major leagues, just being a little off in your hitting technique will affect your production at the plate big time, so we see a lot of young players go up and down from the minors all the time. As long as Wong stays healthy, he should be ok in the long run.
Agree.
This guy is fun to watch! To me he’s far better player than the Suzukis and the Victorinos combined! It’s just the stats he has to deal with! Go find you Mojo and Get it Right Bro,you’ll be back. IMUA!
I agree Kolten is exciting to watch, but to already say he is better than Suzuki and Victirino? He has not played anywhere long enough to even start making comparisons. Give him time, and he will be fine.
Great player just needs to get back in groove that earned him his contract extension. Cardinals’ scheduled to give away 30000 Kolten Wong hawaiian print jerseys at the game on the 17th.