Oakland Athletics Trade Matt Olson To Atlanta Braves

It was a matter of when, not if.

The Oakland Athletics have continued to signal that they are moving into a full rebuild by trading All-Star first baseman Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Olson, 27, was a first-time All-Star in 2021 and has won two Gold Glove Awards during his six big-league seasons.

In return for Olson, the A’s will receive Atlanta’s number one, two, six and 14th-ranked prospects in C Shea Langeliers, OF Cristian Pache and pitchers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes, respectively.

The news of Olson being traded to Atlanta means that lifelong Brave and 2020 MVP Freddie Freeman is signing elsewhere in free agency, with the Los Angeles Dodgers being heavily rumored as the likely destination.

Olson will return to his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia to play for the reigning World Series champions for at least the next two seasons before hitting free agency in 2024.

Over six seasons in Oakland, Olson hit .252 with 142 home runs, 373 runs batted in and a .511 slugging percentage over 575 games.

The 2021 campaign was the first baseman’s best of his career, as Olson clobbered 39 home runs and drove in 111 runs (fifth in the American League) while batting a career-best .271 at the plate.

With Olson and fellow 2021 All-Star Chris Bassitt gone, all eyes shift to Matt Chapman, Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea as the Athletics will likely continue to re-structure this roster prior to Opening Day on April 8th.

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