We have our answer. The Braves just traded half their farm system – slight exaggeration, but only slight – for Matt Olson. He’s a first baseman. You don’t make such a move if you believe you’ll re-sign Freddie Freeman. You make this deal only if you know he’s headed elsewhere.
As difficult as the acknowledgment that Freeman is leaving is, the advent of Olson lessens the pain. He turns 28 in April. He’s under team control for two more seasons. He’s from Atlanta. He played at Parkview High. His WAR, as calculated by Baseball-Reference, over the past four seasons is 15.3.
Freeman is 32. His bWAR over the past four seasons is 17.2. He’s the most distinguished Brave since Chipper Jones. In a perfect world, he’d have been a Brave forever.
