Kolten Wong trade: Mariners send Jesse Winker, Abraham Toro to Brewers

The Seattle Mariners have acquired second baseman Kolten Wong from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for outfielder Jesse Winker and infielder Abraham Toro, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Wong, 32, is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner who hit for a 118 OPS+ in 2022. He’s entering the final season of his contract, during which he’ll earn $10 million. The Mariners would be wise to pair Wong with a right-handed platoon partner, as he has generally been a below-average contributor versus southpaws. Even so, he should provide the Mariners with good defense, baserunner, and some quality hitting against right-handed pitchers.

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Gleyber Torres, 2B, Yankees

A supposed sure thing when acquired from the Cubs as a prospect in the 2016 Aroldis Chapman trade, Torres has had an erratic tenure in pinstripes. He was an All-Star in each of his first two seasons in 2018-19 before posting a combined OPS+ below league average while struggling defensively at shortstop in 2020-21. A full-time shift to second base was part of a better 2022 in which Torres slashed a more respectable .257/.310/.451. Torres is entering his age-26 season and had above-average hard-hit and barrel percentages last season. So unlike fellow Yankees trade candidates Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks, an acquiring team could speculate that his best days are still ahead of him.

Mariners and Jesse Winker are reportedly at odds and butting heads

There was more as well. Here are some of the highlights from that conversation on the radio.

Players are tired of Winker’s act. Tired of putting up with him. The team was frustrated with him.
He wasn’t even with the team and didn’t go to Toronto or Houston. The Mariners likely told him to just go home.
Haniger and Winker are opposites. Haniger puts in all the work, and Winker puts in none. Not to improve defense or his arm, and just isn’t strong enough.
Expected to play just by showing up.
If he didn’t get to play a DH, he would essentially pout, causing other players to have to play all 18 innings.
The team puts in a ton of work to get ready, and he does nothing. Doesn’t follow through with what his responsibilities are.
There are going to be hard conversations with him, or they are just going to move on.
When you put up one of the worst defensive seasons in all of baseball, this isn’t something that can come out about you. All year, I had tried to defend him. Whether it was just a down year with the move, injury, or some combination, I was in his corner still. I rep those Good Vibes, and was trying to do it with Winker.

On Jesse Winker, who was not with the team for its playoff run: pic.twitter.com/4Wu6NmxJFt

— Joe Veyera (@JoeVeyera) October 18, 2022