Photo Courtesy: USA TODAY

The Braves are acquiring 1B Matt Olson from the Athletics in exchange for OF Cristian Pache (#3 Braves prospect), C Shea Langeliers (#2), SP Ryan Cusick (#9), and SP Joey Estes (#14).

Olson, 27, hit .271 in 2022 with a .371 OBP, and a .540 SLG. He had a career high in home runs with 39 and RBI with 111. He was second in the majors in WAR among first baseman, only behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The first baseman is from the Atlanta area and said, “if there was one place to go and leave here, that’s the place to do it.”

Christian Pache is the headlining name in the return package for Olson, as he is the only one with major league experience. While his major league numbers haven’t been pretty (.119/.157/.209 in 24 games), he has a career slash line of .280/.330/.406 in the minors.

Pache took to Twitter to express his sadness with the deal.

“My heart is broken. I just found out that I was traded to the A’s. I know that’s the way this business works, but I want Braves fans to know that I will be eternally grateful to him wherever he goes. Thank you for so much support, for so much love, and for being so special to me,” Pache said.

Langeliers is the higher-rated prospect in the deal but hasn’t had as much time as Pache in the minors. Over two seasons, Langeliers has a slash line of .255/.327/.435. However, he has 24 home runs and 87 RBI in 151 games in that time.

Cusick has only one season in the minor leagues under his belt. In 16.1 innings in 2021, he had a 2.76 ERA with a 1.163 WHIP. The number that stands out is the 18.7 K/9 in 2021 while also keeping his BB/9 to 2.2.

Lastly, Estes had his first season at Single-A in 2021. Over 99 innings, he had a 2.72 ERA with a 0.960 WHIP.

This trade comes as Freddie Freeman remains a free agent, which assumes that he will not be returning to Atlanta. The Dodgers and Yankees have been heavily in on Freeman this winter.

Freeman hit .300 in 2022 with a .393 OBP and .503 SLG while slugging 31 home runs with 83 RBI. The 2020 NL MVP helped lead the Braves to their first World Series since 1995, and he mentioned numerous times that he didn’t want to leave Atlanta.

However, it was reported that Freeman wanted a six-year contract, and the Braves were only willing to give him five. This trade seems to be a clear decision not to bring Freeman back to Atlanta.

The Athletics have traded two of their major players, Chris Bassitt and Matt Olson. In addition, they have rumored to be shopping Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, and Frankie Montas.