With the acquisition of 1B Matt Olson from Oakland A’s, the Atlanta Braves have all but shut the door on the Freddie Freeman era.
While Freeman has not yet signed with another team, it’s only a matter of time. For any Braves fan that was holding out the irrational hope that Olson was brought in to be a DH, general manager Alex Anthopoulos put that to rest while speaking to the media from the team’s spring training site in Florida.
Anthopoulos did not mention Freeman by name during his comments on the Olson trade specifically, but according to Justin Toscano with the AJC, the architect of the Braves roster did get emotional while saying this was the “hardest transaction” he’s ever had to make.
Losing Freeman is an emotional moment for Braves fans as the team gets set to defend their World Series title, but the good news is that Olson brings a big bat and gold-glove level defense to the roster.
With the Olson deal done, Anthopoulos explained that getting first base figured out was a priority before making other additions. With the money saved by not bringing Freeman back, it remains to be seen if the Braves will now be able to bring back either Jorge Soler or Eddie Rosario, or maybe even both.
Be sure to stay tuned to 92.9 The Game as this story develops throughout the day.
