ST. LOUIS (AP) The St. Louis Cardinals optioned second baseman Kolten Wong to Triple-A Memphis to open a spot for infielderJhonny Peralta, set to come off the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Wong is batting .222 in 49 games with 35 starts. He signed a five year, $25 million contract extension this spring but has been the odd man out much of this season. Matt Carpenter is moving to second base and Peralta will be the primary third baseman, making room for Cuban rookie shortstop Aledmys Diaz.
Wong was a first-round draft pick in 2011. He batted .262 with 11 homers and 61 RBIs last season and had advocated for the leadoff spot this season, but has just one homer and five RBIs this year.
Peralta had surgery to repair ligament damage to his left thumb in March.