After much speculation, the Brewers announced today that they are picking up Kolten Wong’s club option for the 2023 season. Wong will make $10MM next year and had a $2MM buyout. This move is the first of several tough decisions that Matt Arnold will have to make over the course of this off-season.
The Brewers are picking up 2B Kolten Wong’s $10 million club option.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) November 8, 2022
Wong is coming off a strange season in which he performed quite well at the plate but had arguably his worst defensive season of his career. The two time gold glove second basemen revealed in a post season interview with Curt Hogg that he is highly motivated to return to form defensively next season.
After the news broke today, Wong had some strong words regarding how he expects to perform next season. Todd Rosiak reported the following quote. “I’m coming in with for sure added motivation to show everybody — especially next year without the shift — that I’m the best second baseman there is.”
Was picking up Wong’s option the right decision?
Only time will tell if Wong will perform to expectations next season or not. However, the decision was somewhat surprising given the fact that prospect Brice Turang appears MLB ready. That being said, rookies tend to have many ebbs and flows while adjusting to major league competition.
In the end, picking up Wong’s option is exciting. He is a proven veteran, knows the club house, and will positively benefit the team next year. It also is a strong statement from the new leader of baseball operations Matt Arnold in that he is willing to retain good players despite their rising cost.
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