The firesale in Oakland is officially on! Shortly after trading All-Star pitcher Chris Bassitt to the New York Mets, the Athletics are now sending first baseman Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves.
In return for the All-Star, the Braves are sending OF Cristian Pache, C Shea Langeliers, and pitchers Joey Estes and Ryan Cusick to Oakland. Olson returns home to his Atlanta roots, while the A’s receive a major haul of prospects to help kickstart their rebuild.
Olson was named to the All-Star game for the first time last season after leading Oakland in virtually every hitting category. The six year veteran posted career highs in runs (101), homeruns (39), RBIs (111), walks (88), batting average (.271) and on base percentage (.371).
The Georgia native finished 8th in AL MVP voting in 2021 and also brings above average defense to the table having won Gold Glove awards in 2018 and 2019. The trade to acquire Olson likely signals the end of franchise icon Freddie Freeman’s time in Atlanta.
Atlanta became the postseason darlings of Major League Baseball last year after sneaking into the playoffs with an 88-73 record. From there they would down the Brewers in 4 games, beat the heavily favoured Dodgers in 6 games, and ultimately hoist the World Series trophy after dispatching of the Astros in 6.
The Braves have now won 4 straight NL East division titles, but will be hard pressed to repeat again as the Mets appear to be loading up for a title run of their own. New York led the division for most of the season in 2021 before a late season collapse saw the Braves surge past them.
While Freeman hasn’t officially ruled out a return to the only franchise he’s called home over the course of his 12 year career, it would appear as though the Braves are planning for a post-Freeman future should he elect to go elsewhere.
Following news of the Olson deal, many sportsbooks shifted the lines to make the Dodgers the favourites to land the slugging 1st baseman who just so happens to have been born outside Orange County, CA.
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.