Mariners designate infielder Kolten Wong for assignment

The Kolten Wong era is all but over in Seattle, with the Mariners designating him for assignment and the Red Sox expressing interest.

The Mariners made a number of roster moves on Tuesday, after the trade deadline had passed. Arguably the most notable, was designating Kolten Wong for assignment.

Even objectively speaking — there’s a lot of passion among Mariners fans — Wong’s tenure in Seattle was disastrous. The trade for him in the first place was widely criticized as it was, but even this didn’t prepare people for what turned into a worst-case scenario.

The 32-year-old is having his poorest season at the plate since his rookie year back in 2013, when he only made 62 plate appearances. Certainly, a .165/.241/.227 slash line and .468 OPS makes for miserable reading.

Not surprisingly, this ineffectiveness was reflected in Wong having the lowest WAR on the Mariners offense, at -1.3. The free-fall in production is astonishing, for a player who last year actually had a single-season career-high of 15 home runs.

Defensive issues as well

Making matters even worse, the second baseman also struggled on defense. His below-average play contributed towards an overall -1.0 fWAR in 67 games this season for the Mariners.

Despite Wong’s struggles, his overall track record has media predicting someone might pick him up off waivers. One team with a reported interest in acquiring him are the Red Sox, who are currently in town to play the Mariners.

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In this respect, we are talking about a player whose resume includes two Gold Glove Awards. He does also have a history of offensive success, although it is fair to have less confidence in this area of his game moving forward.

Wong is in the second season of a two-year, $18 million contract which he signed while in Milwaukee. He’ll have his work cut out getting a similar deal, when he becomes a unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2023 campaign.

Other roster moves

Here’s the list of other roster moves announced by Mariners Executive Vice President and General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander:

· Trent Thornton, RHP, recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.

· Josh Rojas, INF, reports to club.

· Dominic Canzone, OF, reports to club.

· Juan Then, RHP, optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

· Taylor Trammell, OF, optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

Thornton was recently acquired to add bullpen depth, while Rojas and Canzone came in as part of the polarizing trade which sent Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks. All three made their Mariners debut on Tuesday night, in the 6-4 loss to the Red Sox.

How would you sum up Wong’s time in Seattle and do you believe the criticism he’s received is fair? Also, what is your take on how the Mariners approached this year’s trade deadline? Let us know in the comment section below.