ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Cardinals have decided not to pickup the option on Kolten Wong for 2021 and will let the second baseman become a free agent.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak made the announcement in a Wednesday afternoon press conference.
The team had to make a decision late Wednesday afternoon on if they would exercise the option to keep Wong for another year, or let him become a free agent.
Related
He would have been paid $12.5 million, which would have been the fifth-highest paid second baseman in baseball, according to Spotrac.
Wong could win back-to-back Gold Gloves as he was nominated for the award at second base earlier this week. He's the favorite to win, according to many defensive metrics.
The 30-year-old cemented himself as the leadoff hitter for St. Louis in 2020, with a .350 on-base percentage .675 OPS.
He signed a five-year, $25.5 million deal with St. Louis in 2016.
Four other Cardinals players became free agents on Wednesday: Catcher Yadier Molina, pitcher Adam Wainwright, catcher Matt Wieters and infielder Brad Miller.
© 2020 KMOX (Entercom). All rights reserved