When it comes to sluggers in the game of baseball, their contracts generally don't age particularly well. As players get older, they lose a bit of strength and their bat speed generally declines leading to them having a tough time dealing with velocity and their contact rates go down. When your value is hitting the ball hard and getting on base since pitchers don't want to let you hit the ball hard, things go south in a hurry when your bat slows down and the other team knows it. However, for Atlanta Braves slugger Matt Olson, it feel as though his deal with age better than most.
The general feeling around Olson's eight year, $168 million deal was mixed at the time, but that was primarily because of the fact that Freddie Freeman had just left town and the pain was still too real. Despite what some of the more deranged Freeman fans out there think, Olson has earned his contract to this point and then some. However, there remains some understandable concerns that the backend of Olson's contract when he is in his mid-30's will not look nearly as good.
However, Sunday night brought a reminder of another strength of Olson's that often gets overlooked. The Gold Glove awards were announced and not only was Olson the Braves' only winner, but it also highlighted that his defense at first base provides added value that should stick around for a while.
Matt Olson's Gold Glove defense should help make his extension more than worth it
Let's assume that Olson's bat does slow a bit the last two years of his deal which is entirely possible. Unlike other positions, first base doesn't necessarily need the quick twitch athleticism and arm strength that most other positions do to be valuable defensively. First base is primarily about making smart decisions, guessing right with your first step, and being able to scoop errant throws out of the dirt. Olson's acumen in all of those areas is high and combined with his long limbs, he remains one of the better defenders at first in baseball and will likely stay that way for a while even with modest declines over time.
While not always the flashiest guys when it comes to numbers (although his heaters are a sight to behold), all of these smaller attributes add up with Olson. Between being a great defender and the fact that the guy just doesn't miss games at all, the odds that Olson's contract becomes an albatross unless his bat completely falls off a cliff are pretty small. For as frustrating as he can be sometimes, Olson does a lot of things really well and his defense is just one example.
Braves shortstop Nick Allen also received a Gold Glove finalist nod, but he fell short as the Cardinals' Masyn Winn and that cannon of an arm of his took home the hardware.