The Atlanta Braves faced the enormous task of replacing a fan favorite after negotiations with Freddie Freeman seemingly went sour. This put a question mark on a couple of areas for the front office. First off, who could replace one of the best offensive AND defensive first basemen in all of Major League Baseball? Secondly, how do you go about replacing someone so loved and talented after a decade?
Matt Olson found himself as the answer to that question as he was traded from the Oakland A’s to his hometown Atlanta Braves. He would go on to provide the Braves with everything they could have hoped for in 2022.
How did the 2022 season go for Matt Olson?
As mentioned above, Olson came into 2022 with massive expectations to live up to. However, he already had a reputation around the league. Olson is known to play outstanding defense, hit for power, and keep the offense churning. He was coming off a career-best season that saw him slash .271/.371/.540 with 39 home runs and 111 RBI.
Olson also carried career high fWAR at 5.1 and wRC+ at 147 which showed that Olson was one of the best first basemen in all of baseball. His six defensive runs saved (DRS) ranked second among first basemen and helped him earn second place in Gold Glove voting.
Matt was off to a very hot start with the Braves, but cooled off near the All-Star Break. After 94 games, he was slashing .255/.340/.488 with 17 home runs, 34 doubles, and 60 RBIs. He also walked 51 times during that stretch.
Unfortunately, Olson found himself in a pretty tough slump after this and the strikeout totals began to pile up. The Atlanta first baseman would strike out 170 times in 2022 which is a career-high.
He would eventually get that turned around with a strong finish in September and becoming one of the few offensive highlights of Atlanta’s shortened playoff run. The 2022 season would see Olson hit 34 homers, drive in 103 runs, and walk 75 times. His final slash line of .240/.325/.477 and .802 OPS are not eye-popping but overall, the Braves got exactly what they expected out of the Lilburn, Georgia native in the end.
What can the Atlanta Braves expect from Matt Olson in 2023?
Olson is locked in with the Braves for another seven years, so there are a lot of expectations for him to be a cornerstone of this team for a while. He has proven that he is a productive player who provides great leadership, defense, power, and attitude. I expect Matt will feel more comfortable in his second season in an Atlanta Braves uniform and provide fans with some special moments.
He’s going to continue to get on base and rack up the extra base hits. After what we saw at the end of September and into the playoffs, Matt Olson seems to have figured some things out swing-wise and could have a monster season. If he cuts down on the strikeouts and plays the way he did at the end of the year, watch out.
While he may not have been who many expected to be manning first base for the next decade, I sure am thankful that he’s on our side. Atlanta has been lucky to witness not one, but two incredible defenders play first base. Hopefully we get to see Olson excel even more in the years to come.