042222 Atlanta: Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson reacts with teammates following the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Truist Park Friday, April 22, 2022, in Atlanta. Olson hits a two-RBI double during the seventh inning. (Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com)
There’s no denying the overall rough year that Matt Olson has had this year. Coming into August 12th, Matt has a career low in walk rate (9.2%), and wRC+ (
102), and overall his worst year since 2020. This is especially frustrating after the magical 2023 campaign that saw Matt
carry the Atlanta Braves offense at times thanks to career-bests in almost every category.
This performance has led to many frustrated fans that point back to Freddie Freeman, who is once again having a
very strong year for the Los Angeles Dodgers and is outperforming Olson in just about every category outside of
home runs. Even when you look at his advanced stats captured on Baseball Savant, while the hard-hit stats are still
great, his expected batting average and slugging are not what you would hope for someone so important to the Braves
lineup. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion as to what the Braves should have done, but let’s look at some of the
reasons why making the move for Matt Olson still makes sense despite this year.
Back in 2022, the Braves chose to move on from Freddie Freeman and obtain Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics in a trade that would end up being a 5
player deal. Atlanta traded catcher Shea Langeliers, outfielder Cristian Pache, and pitchers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes for
Matt. Shea, selected with the ninth pick in the 2019 draft, was considered one of the top catchers in the draft and has since manned the catching position for
the Oakland Athletics, a position of strength for the Braves. Shea has hit .217/.278/.445 which is good for a 103 wRC+ which is solid for the catching
position, but has struggled behind the plate – registering 56th out of 59th in catcher framing runs.
