Dozen MLB players have options turned down, go free

ARLINGTON, Texas: What figures to be a down and perhaps brutal market for baseball free agents in the offseason following the pandemic began Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) when a dozen players were told their contract options had been declined, among them St. Louis Cardinals Gold Glove second baseman Kolten Wong.

The 30-year-old Wong will receive a $1 million buyout. Wong, a first-round pick in the 2011 draft, made his big league debut in 2013 and spent his first eight seasons with St. Louis. Wong hit. 265 with a homer and 16 RBIs in 53 games during the pandemic-shortened season, helping the Cardinals make the playoffs for the second straight year. They were eliminated by San Diego in the first round.