MLB: NLDS-St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves
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The Brewers have agreed to a two-year, $18 million deal with free-agent second baseman Kolten Wong, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Wong hit free agency back in late October when the Cardinals surprisingly didn't pick up the 2021 option that would've been worth $12.5 million. 

Instead, Wong moves within the NL Central up north to Milwaukee. Second base didn't look like a need for the Brewers, but they'll make room for Wong there. He's one of the best defenders in baseball at the keystone, having won the last two NL Gold Gloves and ranking highly in advanced metrics such as outs above average. 

Further, youngster Keston Hiura has long had defensive question marks at the position and hasn't really come close to answering them at the big-league level through 130 games there. There has already been discussion that he might be moving to first base and perhaps this Wong signing is the impetus for a full-time change for Hiura. 

Daniel Vogelbach looked set to be the Brewers' primary first baseman and he hit well once they acquired him, but it was an incredibly small sample and he had already been designated for assignment by two teams in that 60-game season. He'll still be of use in case Hiura struggles with the bat and they could even platoon them at times, given that Vogelbach swings lefty and Hiura is right-handed. 

Orlando Arcia and Luis Urias appear set at shortstop and third base, respectively, and they now have an excellent double-play partner. 

Wong, 30, hit .265/.350/.326 (87 OPS+, dragged down mightily by the slugging) last season, but he hit .285/.361/.423 (108 OPS+) with 24 stolen bases in 2019. There's some offensive upside, but the signing is mostly about the drastic improvement he offers at an up-the-middle defensive position over Hiura.