St. Louis Cardinals Feeling Tension With Kolten Wong
Kolten Wong expressed displeasure with a possible platoon situation with the St. Louis Cardinals. That emotion now appears to be mutual.
The St. Louis Cardinals have enough problems on the field, preparing to face another season looking up in the standings at their archrival Chicago Cubs. Second baseman Kolten Wong didn’t make things easier off the field this week when he suggested that he’d rather be traded than be part of a platoon.
Needless to say, general manager John Mozeliak was not happy with Wong’s emotionally charged statements. Wong has since clarified that he wants to stay in St. Louis.
One can understand Wong’s frustration. He signed a five-year, $25.5 million contract extension before last season to be the Cardinals’ second baseman of the future. However, he found himself in and out of the lineup, and was even sent back to AAA for a brief time. Towards the end of the season, he was even thrown into the outfield.
Some of this is on manager Mike Matheny, who may be in a little over his head at this point. There is no reason to play Wong, a solid defender at second base, in the outfield. But Wong’s comments are still out of place.
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The Cardinals selected Wong with the 22nd overall pick in the 2011 draft. Despite this high selection, and despite that relatively new contract, Wong is not owed anything. Baseball is a meritocracy, and if there is a better option than Wong, that better option should see playing time.
Wong is coming off his worst full season in the majors, struggling with an 83 OPS+. After reaching double-digit home runs and stolen bases in 2014 and 2015, the popular breakout pick in fantasy baseball circles crashed with five homers and seven steals in 2016.
For his career, Wong has noticeable platoon splits, though they are not extreme. He has a .248 batting average against right-handed pitching and a .247 average against southpaws. Differences in OBP and slugging account for a greater disparity, as Wong’s career OPS is 80 points lower against left-handed pitching. Still, his .697 career OPS against right-handers is nothing special.
Jedd Gyorko, a right-handed hitter, represents Wong’s potential platoon partner. Although Gyorko actually displayed reverse platoon splits in 2016 thanks to a mammoth .536 slugging percentage against right-handed pitching, he has better career numbers against left-handed pitching. Gyorko’s .764 career OPS against left-handers makes him a weapon, while his .695 OPS against right-handers is actually in line with Wong’s figure.
Gyorko, in contrast with Wong, is coming off a career year. In his first season with the Cardinals after coming over in a trade with the Padres, Gyorko mashed a career-best 30 home runs in a career-low 438 plate appearances. His versatility all around the infield kept him in the lineup on a regular enough basis to do consistent damage with his 110 OPS+.
In order for Wong to avoid a platoon, he has to prove that he can hit left-handed pitching. Unfortunately, he may no longer have that opportunity. Another season like 2016, and Wong may long for the days when he had the opportunity to play on the long side of a platoon.