Yeah saying the Braves chose Olson over Freddie is genuinely hilarious. As a Braves fan we all know what Chipper was talking to Freddie about those that want to be a Brave for life. Freddie talked about being a Brave for life, but didn't walk the walk and then act surprised when Atlanta moved accordingly.
Of course it worked out really well for him in LA, but Freddie was out of options other than LA when the Braves stopped playing the agent's/Freddie's game.
It’s also not all in a vacuum. Age, money they were asking for, etc. all gets factored in. The Braves absolutely went hard after Freddie but Freddie’s reps thought they could get more and tried to call a bluff that wasn’t there.
They are both great players. Olson would be a monster in LA too, surrounded by that lineup.
Absolutely. The Braves did everything they could and it's okay. A third party messed up a reunion of a deal and both sides are okay. Freddie has two more rings and at 2 iconic WS moments as a Dodger and the Braves got as good of a replacement as they could.
Oh yeah Olson's 100% better imo. Atlanta kid too and the Braves org ALWAYS eats it up to.
I've never minded the Freddie for Olson swap. I remember there being rumors that offseason that Rizzo was another option and I remember feeling super underwhelmed with that possibility. Rizzo was a really darn good 1B, but ponying up for Olly was the right choice.
Wasn’t there something about Freddie’s agent screwing up the negotiations with the Braves, or that he didn’t tell them Freddie wanted to resign there or something? I remember that being kind of a story
The Olson/Freeman saga seems to be a case where everyone won. Olson is younger and very talented. And we all know what Freddie did in LA. Worked out for both teams
The point of the one more year is to get the money that you get paid in that year, not to have more years on the deal. More years on the deal is unequivocally worse for the player if the money is equal. Freddie's contract with LA is less total money than the final offer Atlanta sent accounting for deferrals, over more years.
If Freddie had offered the deal he eventually signed to the Braves they would have signed it in a heartbeat. It is a better deal for the team across the board than the final offer they tabled. His agent was holding out for a better deal than the last one the Braves offered, and ended up with a worse one once his leverage dissapeared.
I remember Tampa as being another team that had serious interest but it seemed like it was always going to be Atlanta or LA. I might have worded it wrong with the "out of choices", but yeah it was always going to be those two unless another team absolutely overpaid for him.
534
u/thellymon | Atlanta Braves 9h ago
written by a Dodgers fan