The Detroit Tigers still need a second baseman.
Could someone like Kolton Wong drop into the Tigers’ price range?
MLB.com’s Jon Morosi listed the Tigers among six teams that have shown interest in Wong, along with the St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.
Hilo’s Wong, 30, is known for his elite glove at second. His offense has been less consistent.
Wong has a career OPS of .717 (94 OPS+) in 3,044 plate appearances over parts of eight seasons, all with the Cardinals. But he’s only one year removed from the best season of his career, when he hit .285 with 11 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 148 games in 2019. He posted a .784 OPS (108 OPS+).
Wong is a left-handed hitter who doesn’t strike out a ton (at least by Tigers’ standards) and draws walks at a respectable clip. In that sense, he’s a good fit for the direction toward which the Tigers would like to steer their offense. But he offers only moderate power at best, and in fact hit only one home run in 208 plate appearances in the shortened 2020 season.
The Cardinals declined Wong’s $12.5 million option for 2021 after his disappointing campaign.
An aggregate of various free-agent predictions from The Athletic said Wong would get two years and $18 million. That now seems highly unlikely.
The second base market has started moving of late, with the Boston Red Sox signing Enrique Hernandez (2 years, $14 million), the Cleveland Indians re-signing Cesar Hernandez (1 year, $5 million) and the San Francisco Giants reportedly close to a deal with Tommy La Stella.
Who’s left after Wong?
Jonathan Schoop and Jonathan Villar jump out as the most obvious choices, although Marwin Gonzalez could play second as part of a utility role.
Schoop, 29, spent last year with the Tigers. The right-handed hitter plays solid defense and has some pop in his bat, but he does strike out a lot.
Villar, also 29, is like Wong in that he put up big numbers in 2019 but struggled in the shortened 2020 season. He’s also not considered as strong defensively as Schoop or Wong. Villar played for new Tigers manager A.J. Hinch with the Houston Astros in 2015.
Woodbery writes for mlive.com