Matt Olson joins Braves as Oakland Athletics receive Cristian Pache and prospects
Less than 48 hours after ace Chris Bassett was agreed to be traded to the Mets, the A are sending another All-Star elsewhere as the club dealt with first baseman Matt Olsson for the Atlanta Braves.
The A announced that they traded the Olson, Atlanta native, to the Braves on Monday in a blockbuster swap that would bring four prospects to a franchise in the early stages of another rebuild. In exchange for the 2021 All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner Olsson, the A will receive outfielder Christian Pache, catcher Shea Langeliers and pitchers Ryan Cusick and Joy Estes.
Pache, 23, debuted in the Majors in 2020 and has long been considered one of the top prospects in the Braves' farm system, but the pacer outfielder has just eight hits at bat in his 67 career.
Matt Olson just talked to media here after being traded to Atlanta. He called the move “bittersweet” — he loved his time in Oakland but is very excited to head to his childhood team.
— Alex Simon (@AlexSimonSports) March 14, 2022
Will have more on @mercnews/@EastBayTimes shortly. pic.twitter.com/7ZQt2hASyP
Langeliers, 24, was the ninth overall pick from Baylor in the 2019 MLB amateur draft and was named Atlanta's Minor League Player of the Year in 2021, scoring 22 home runs and 52 in 92 games with Double-A Mississippi. had scored.
Cusick and Estes will solidify A's system that added pitching prospects to the top Mets, J.T. Gin, in Basit trade which was completed on Saturday evening.
Cusick, 22, was the 24th overall pick in the 2021 MLB amateur draft from Wake Forest and dismissed 34 batsmen in 16 1/3 innings during his first pro season. Estes, 20, is the lowest-profile prospect among the Oakland-acquired quartet in Monday's trade, but the former 16th-round draft pick impressed with Low-A Augusta last year as he posted a 2.91 ERA in 20 last season .
With Bassit and Olsson gone elsewhere, it seems the A's are increasingly likely to part ways with third baseman Matt Chapman before Opening Day. Like Olson, Chapman is arbitrage-worthy in 2022 and 2023 and should bring a slew of prospects that will give Oakland a chance to reduce its payroll while adding promising young talent.
Olsson, who will be 28 by Opening Day, is now in a position to replace franchise icon Freddie Freeman, a former National League MVP who anchored the Braves' 2021 World Series championship team. Freedman is rumored to be a top free agent target for the Braves during the offseason, but has also been linked to several other teams, including the Dodgers.
My heart is broken. I just found out that I was traded to the A's. I know that's the way this business works, but I want Braves fans to know that I will be eternally grateful to him wherever he goes. Thank you for so much support, for so much love and for being so special to me.
— Cristian pache (@cristianpache25) March 14, 2022