Matt Olson Trade Spells End of Freddie Freeman's Time in Atlanta

Jeff Passan reported Monday afternoon that the Oakland Athletics were sending Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves. The Braves' deal for the A's first baseman likely means the end of Freddie Freeman's time as Atlanta Braves first baseman.

Ben Silver | Mar 14, 2022

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Oakland Athletics and Atlanta Braves came to an agreement for star first baseman Matt Olson. It seems like the Freddie Freeman era in Atlanta may be over.

Freddie Freeman has been the cornerstone of the Braves for 12 seasons since his debut in 2012. Now he's a free agent, and Atlanta is finalizing a deal for a player who looks to be his replacement.

With the implementation of the designated hitter in the National League in 2022, it's possible the Braves could employ both players. That would, however, be an unconventional strategy.

Both first baseman are top class defenders, Olson especially so. To start one regularly at DH would be losing a huge chunk of their value.

In return for Olson, the A's recieved a massive haul of prospects including OF Christian Pache, C Shea Langeliers, SP Ryan Cusick and SP Joey Estes according to Passan.

The A's have signaled for several months now that they're ready to enter a rebuild, this trade may indicate that the dominoes will begin to fall faster after the A's dealt Chris Bassitt to the Mets on Sunday.

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Published Mar 14, 2022

BEN SILVER

Ben Silver is deputy editor for Inside the Phillies. A graduate of Boston University, Ben formerly covered the Phillies for PhilliesNation.com. Follow him on Twittter @BenHSilver.