Report: Atlanta Braves to trade for Parkview grad Matt Olson, likely not re-signing Freddie Freeman
Mar. 14—The Atlanta Braves have agreed to a trade for Oakland A's first baseman Matt Olson, a Parkview grad, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The deal likely signals that the Braves won't re-sign star first baseman Freddie Freeman.
Atlanta will trade outfielder Christian Pache, catcher Shea Langeliers and starting pitchers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes for Olson, Passan reported.
Olson, who turns 28 later this month, hit .271 with 39 home runs and 111 RBIs last season and was an All-Star selection for the first time. The left-handed slugger, also a two-time Gold Glove winner, was drafted in the first round by the A's in 2012. He is a career .252 hitter with 142 home runs since making his MLB debut in 2016. He had 36 homers in 2019 and 14 in the shortened 2020 season.
He is expected to replace Freeman, a lifetime Braves and a cornerstone of the team's 2021 World Series championship team. The 2020 National League MVP and five-time All-Star hit .300 with 31 home runs and 83 RBIs last season, and has a .295 career average with 271 home runs and 941 RBIs since making his Braves debut as a 20-year-old in 2010.
Though no formal decision has been announced on Freeman and the Braves, the Dodgers likely emerge as the favorite to sign the first baseman.
To get Olson, the Braves gave up a pack of young prospects, including Pache and Langeliers, who are ranked as the team's No. 1 and No. 2 prospects by MLB.com. Cusick is Atlanta's No. 6 prospect and Estes is No. 14.
Pache, 23, is an elite defensive outfielder, though his hitting hasn't caught up to break through as an MLB regular. Langeliers, 24, was Atlanta's first-round choice in 2019 after a college career at Baylor. Like Pache, his defense is ahead of his hitting at this point in his career.
The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Cusick, 22, was the Braves' first-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2021. Estes, 20, was a 16th-round pick of Atlanta and had a big year in low Class A Augusta last season with a 2.91 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 99 innings.
