Kolten Wong DFA’d as Mariners activate recent trade acquisitions

The end of an era.

The Seattle Mariners have designated 2B Kolten Wong for assignment to clear both a 40-man spot and a 26-man roster spot, while they optioned OF Taylor Trammell and RHP Juan Then to create space to activate INF Josh Rojas, OF Dominic Canzone, and RHP Trent Thornton. The move was forewarned by Wong’s underwhelming performance, coupled with the trade last night by the M’s to acquire Rojas, Canzone, and INF Ryan Bliss. While there was some possibility that Wong might be traded at the deadline to the Boston Red Sox, scooting across the T-Mobile Park infield to the other dugout in shades of Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees and New York Kendall Graveman to the Houston Astros.

Wong finishes his time in Seattle with what was unfortunately one of the worst seasons in recent club history. He slashed .165/.241/.227 in 216 plate appearances for -1.0 fWAR and a 36 wRC+. Not only did the 32-year-old regress catastrophically offensively, he saw all other facets of his game crumble or continue to be below par. Wong accepted a demotion from the starting role, but was unable to take dramatic strides forward in a bench role. He will clear waivers and be able to sign a minor league deal with a club of his choosing, which is likely to be an option given his history in spite of 2023.