Kolten Wong Optioned to Triple-A by Cardinals: Latest Comments and Reaction

The St. Louis Cardinals announced Monday that they have optioned second baseman Kolten Wong to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. 

Instead of promoting someone else from the minors to fill Wong's spot on the roster, the Cardinals expect veteran infielder Jhonny Peralta to come off the disabled list Tuesday.

Wong has appeared in 49 games this season with a slash line of .222/.306/.286, one home run and five RBI.

The move to send Wong down is rather surprising since St. Louis just signed him to a five-year, $25.5 million extension in spring training.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch weighed in on the notable transaction:

But it appears as though the club is intent on shaking up its infield, the makeup of which was recently revealed.

ESPN.com's Mark Saxon reported last Friday the plans that Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak had for when Peralta returned from the DL. Rookie Aledmys Diaz is slated to stay at shortstop, while Matt Carpenter will take over at second base and Peralta will move to third following a recovery from left thumb surgery.

"Clearly, it comes down to performance. At any point, if he were to take off and get moving, he would find playing time," Mozeliak said of Wong, per Saxon. "It's always about finding that piece that, from a trajectory standpoint, is going up. Right now, I think that's the only position we're sort of struggling with."

Per Saxon, Carpenter spoke with St. Louis skipper Mike Matheny and was receptive to playing second. Diaz has earned his spot as an everyday starter with a .328 batting average, eight homers and 30 RBI thus far.

After winning the National League Central each of the prior three seasons, the Cardinals find themselves trailing the Chicago Cubs by 10 games entering Monday's action.

There is still plenty of season left, but St. Louis appears intent on making up ground with a big push before next month's All-Star break.

Unless Diaz hits the rookie wall and goes through a huge slump—or another injury occurs—Wong's outlook to return for the second half of the 2016 campaign seems bleak, barring a monster Triple-A stint.

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