Braves explored Rizzo first before Freeman became a Dodger

Braves explored – Freddie Freeman’s move to the Dodgers in 2022 reshaped the first-base market, and the Braves’ replacement plan didn’t start with Matt Olson. A report from The Athletic describes how Atlanta initially approached Anthony Rizzo for a short-term deal, only to hit

Freddie Freeman didn’t just change uniforms in 2022. He ended a whole era in Atlanta—one built on 12 seasons, an early championship, and the kind of MVP season that turns a franchise icon into a permanent reference point.

So when Freeman pivoted to the Los Angeles Dodgers after free agency, it triggered more than a roster shuffle for the Braves. It forced Atlanta to make up ground quickly, while the rest of the league was already thrown off schedule.

Freeman’s resume with the Braves was the reason his departure felt impossible to imagine. In Atlanta, he won his first championship and his lone MVP. Once he left. the Dodgers still built around him—earning four All-Star nods with the team. two rings. and a World Series MVP trophy. In other words: the investment didn’t just land. It paid.

But the Braves still had to keep moving.

Matt Olson is the name most people connect to Atlanta’s rebound after Freeman. The Braves pivoted to Olson once the Dodgers signed Freeman, and the numbers have supported that choice. Olson has posted 23.1 WAR since 2022, edging out Freeman’s total of 21.4. Olson has also “literally hasn’t missed a game in a half-decade. ” turning the Braves’ response into something close to a stable continuation rather than a patchwork.

Still, the story isn’t as simple as “Freeman left, Olson arrived.” The Athletic’s report adds a missing first step: Olson wasn’t the Braves’ immediate replacement plan.

According to the account, the Braves initially approached Anthony Rizzo for a short-term contract to take over at first base. That was during the same lead-up to the 2021-22 offseason that already included major shockwaves across the sport: the Braves had just won the World Series; the Dodgers’ streak of eight consecutive NL West titles was snapped despite 106 regular-season wins; and Rizzo entered the market after being traded as part of the Chicago Cubs’ fire sale at the trade deadline.

Then the league’s schedule broke again.

A four-month shutdown followed, tied to a CBA-related lockout. When the work stoppage ended. teams and players moved fast—signing deals in a scramble before a truncated spring training began. In that kind of timeline, early conversations matter. They set the tone for who gets leverage and who gets left behind.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic described how the Dodgers’ bid eventually rose “to an uncomfortable level,” and that once Freeman’s market tipped hard, Atlanta looked at Rizzo as the initial backup plan. The two sides, however, “did not get close to a deal.”

The sticking point was straightforward: the Braves wouldn’t give Rizzo the opt-out he desperately craved. That single detail kept the Braves from getting the short-term solution they were reaching for.

All of it matters because it changes how you read the outcome. It’s easy to treat roster decisions like straight lines—free agent leaves, target signs, problem solved. This was a different kind of scramble, one shaped by the lockout’s disruption and the speed of the market once spring approached.

In the end, the Braves still got Rizzo and Olson—just not in the order that first felt likely.

Freeman became a Dodger on a six-year, $162 million deal, and Rosenthal’s report frames it as the result of both the Braves and the Yankees bowing out of his market. That paved the way for the Braves to land Olson after Freeman’s move was sealed.

Rizzo, meanwhile, went on to make the World Series with the Yankees in 2024. The Braves found MVP-caliber production from Olson rather than from the first backup plan that fizzled over an opt-out.

So yes—Freeman’s Dodgers run has still been hard to beat. Two rings in four years is a steep standard. But the Braves’ side of the story doesn’t read like they waited around after losing a franchise icon. It reads like they tried to cover the hole quickly. started with Rizzo. hit a negotiation wall. and then pivoted to Olson.

Even when deals didn’t work, the Braves weren’t idle. The difference was that the first plan didn’t survive the details—and the market moved too fast for second-guessing once Freeman finally made his choice.

Freddie Freeman Atlanta Braves Los Angeles Dodgers Anthony Rizzo Matt Olson World Series MVP WAR CBA lockout spring training Ken Rosenthal