When the Braves acquired Matt Olson for the price of four prospects Monday, it was clear that the organization was ready to make him the first baseman of the future. That has been reiterated today as the 27-year-old addition to the Braves lineup has signed a lucrative long-term deal—8-years for $168 million along with a $20 million club option for 2030.
Bringing Olson in means the loss of Freddie Freeman, but Olson’s production in Oakland should give Braves fans plenty of reasons to look on the bright side. In 2021, the left-handed hitter hit 39 home runs and drove in 111 runs. Defensively, Olson has earned two gold gloves in his young career and led AL first basemen in fielding percentage a season ago.
Thanking Olson for diving in head first with the club, a sleep depraved Alex Anthopolous called the deal “exceptionally exciting" during his introductory press conference.
Olson was already under contract through 2023, but he jumped at the chance to fully commit to the state where he already lived during each and every offseason.
“The stars kind of aligned perfectly…Hometown, just bought a house there, just got traded there and you want to go ahead an ink a deal and give me some security to be there for a while?…It was just yes the whole way and something I was very pumped to do.”
In the deal for the Parkview High School alum, the Braves dealt OF Christian Pache, C Shea Langeliers, RHP Ryan Cusick and RHP Joey Estes to the A's.
We're still awaiting the news on where Freeman will sign as more and more teams continue to have rumored interest in the 2020 NL MVP. The Dodgers have been seen as the favorite as of late but the Red Sox, Blue Jays and the Rays are also in the mix.
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