In the annals of Atlanta Braves history, there are few debates that have been more annoying than the comparisons between Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman. From the moment that Freeman chose to play hardball with the Braves (or at least his agent did) and Atlanta opted to trade for Olson, the two players were tied together for eternity, but much of the discourse has been the prisoner of any given moment and a forced choice where one doesn't actually exist.
It has been five seasons since Freeman last played for the Braves, and you will not struggle to find some (usually well-meaning) fans who bemoan the Braves "getting rid of" Freeman when Olson is slumping or bashing Freeman when he gets hurt, as if any small sample is going to make or break the debate at any given moment. They were two players at very different stages of their careers when all of this went down, and there is no right answer as to what any side should have done.
One hopes that now that we have the reveal of the finalists at first base in the National League for the 2026 Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Awards, presented by FanSided, this debate will return to some level of sanity. As expected, Olson was named one of four finalists for the first base Silver Slugger, while Freeman missed out on the finalist nod.
It is only one Silver Slugger Award finalist selection, but it helps show that comparing Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman no longer makes sense
First base was pretty loaded this season in the National League. While Olson didn't exactly end 2026 on a hot streak, his .823 OPS for the season and 41 homers were enough to make the cut. Olson joins the Brewers' Jake Bauers, Cardinals' Alex Burleson, and Giants' Rafael Devers as finalists at first base in the National League.
As for Freeman, he did not have a bad season this year, and there would be years when he would have probably still been named a Silver Slugger finalist. However, Freeman really started to show his age and all the miles on his body, as his 16 homers were his lowest total in a normal, non-COVID-shortened season in his entire career.
What is clear now is that the debate should have never been about the current versions of Freeman and Olson were when all this drama started, but what they would become in the coming years. Freeman will end up in the Hall of Fame (and rightly so), and Olson might be on his way as well. However, Freeman is five years older than Olson and was never going to be the same player as he got older, while Olson is firmly in the middle of his prime and came with a cheaper AAV. It was sad to see Freeman leave, but that doesn't mean both sides weren't better off the way things went, and this Silver Slugger race is just one piece of evidence as to why.
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