Cubs among teams to ‘check in' on free agent Kolten Wong

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Take this for what it's worth, and it may not be worth much, but the Cubs are among several teams to express interest in free agent Kolten Wong this offseason.

Wong, 30, has spent his entire eight-season career with the Cardinals, who declined his $12.5 million option earlier this winter. He's one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball, taking home NL Gold Glove Awards the past two seasons. 

Offensively, Wong is a career .261/.333/.384 hitter and has the type of profile the Cubs are seeking this winter. He holds a career 83 percent contact rate, including a personal best 85.4 this past season.

But while Wong would add something the Cubs lineup needs, the likelihood they spent money on a free agent second baseman this winter when they have other needs isn't high. 

The Cubs currently have just three outfielders on their roster in Phillip Ervin, Ian Happ and Jason Heyward. Their rotation projects to include Kyle Hendricks, Zach Davies, Adbert Alzolay and Alec Mills. That leaves at least one vacancy, though teams will need more than five starters to help cover the increase in innings from the shortened 2020 season to 2021.

MORE: How Cubs rotation stacks up without Jon Lester

The Cubs also have several players capable of playing second in Nico Hoerner, David Bote, Ildemaro Vargas and Max Schrock. In fact, Hoerner was one of the NL's other Gold Glove finalists at second in 2020.

Does that mean a Wong deal won’t happen? Of course not. Stranger things have happened. But the Cubs have other areas of the roster they need to shore up, and Wong may get more lucrative offers elsewhere.

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