The Seattle Mariners recently pulled the trigger on a major trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. In the trade Teoscar Hernandez was sent to the Mariners. Seattle was willing to part ways with two pitchers. Erik Swanson was one relievers involved and the other was prospect Adam Macko. A day after this trade, reports are indicating that the Mariners are checking in on the availability of Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong.
Sources: #Mariners have inquired with #Brewers on availability of 2B Kolten Wong, who has 1 year left before free agency. Wong, a left-handed hitter, is coming off a career-high 118 OPS+. @MLB @MLBNetwork @SeattleSports
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 17, 2022
It is not surprising to hear that teams are checking in on Wong’s availability. The Brewers recently picked up his $10MM option for the 2023 season. To some, this was surprising, but there also was fan speculation that maybe Matt Arnold desires to trade him in order to get players in return rather than lose him in free agency and get nothing in return.
It is unclear what the Brewers true intentions are with Wong. Matt Arnold did reference Wong as a championship caliber player, which may imply that he has no plan in parting ways with the two time gold glover. Regardless, let’s take a look at some players the Brewers could ask for if they are willing to trade Wong.
Who could the Brewers target from the Mariners in A Kolten Wong Trade?
MLB Trade Rumors has had multiple reports that the Mariners may be willing to part ways with some key players on their major league roster. Players mentioned most frequently include outfielder Jesse Winker and starting pitchers Chris Flexen and Marco Gonzales. Perhaps a trade between the two clubs centers around one of these three players.
Winker is set to make $8.25MM in 2023 and is coming off a very bad season. Brewer fans should remember him from his days with the Reds where he seemingly always put up monster performances against the Crew. The left handed hitter is typically very good against right handed pitchers. Nowadays he may be best used in a platoon role.
Flexen is very solid starting pitcher who has had an ERA around 3.60-3.70 during the past two seasons. He signed a pre arbitration extension with the Mariners and will make $2.75MM in 2022. Outside of 2022, he has a club option for 2023 that can become a $8MM player option if he reaches certain milestones.
Gonzalez is a southpaw who started 32 games last season. He’s had an ERA around 4.00 over the past two seasons. Additionally, he has surrendered 29 and 30 home runs in each. Like Flexen, he too signed a pre arbitration extension. Gonzalez will make $5.50MM in 2022, $6.50MM in 2023, $12.00MM in 2024, and has a $15.00MM club option in 2025 with no buyout.
Of these players, Flexen is the most appealing. Unfortunately, he may also only be controllable for one more season, but potentially two. The Brewers indicated that they want to pursue more pitching via outside sources this offseason, so we will see if anything comes to fruition with this report.
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1 Comment
Let’s not be stupid Brewers. KEEP WONG!