Braves tried – A previously unreported turn in the Freeman-Olson swing shows the Braves briefly tried to sign Anthony Rizzo before pivoting to Matt Olson. Four years later, Freeman’s Dodgers success and Olson’s steady production have left both sides looking vindicated—plus a
When Freddie Freeman left Atlanta, the story was supposed to end with one clean swap: Freeman out, Matt Olson in. Four years later, a quieter detail is resurfacing—one that reframes how the Braves tried to cover the loss.
Once Atlanta believed it had missed Freeman during the post-lockout free-agent frenzy in March 2022, it moved to find another first baseman before acquiring Olson from the then-Oakland Athletics. The player in that earlier chase was Anthony Rizzo.
Those discussions never got close to a deal.. Atlanta does not give players opt-outs. and it declined to offer Rizzo the contract he received from the New York Yankees: two years. $32 million. with an opt-out after the first year.. A person close to Rizzo said the Braves’ preference was to sign him for one year.
Unable to reach agreement with Rizzo, the Braves were left with two choices at first base: stay internal with Adam Duvall or pursue a trade for Olson. They pivoted quickly, acquiring Olson for a package of four prospects—only one of whom, catcher Shea Langeliers, amounted to a player of consequence.
The Freeman-Olson saga has long fed a debate about what Atlanta intended all along.. This new detail adds tension to that conversation: it runs counter to the idea that the Braves’ intention all along was to land Olson.. Whatever people believed at the time, the outcomes now look favorable for both teams.
Freeman agreed to a six-year, $162 million contract with the Dodgers, with more than 35 percent deferred. In Los Angeles, he has reinforced his Hall of Fame candidacy, including a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, followed by winning Series MVP.
Olson signed an eight-year, $168 million extension the day after joining the Braves.. The fit has been different than Freeman’s—Olson hasn’t been as strong offensively—but the two contracts and timelines now line up with a different kind of value.. As a Brave. Olson has an OPS+ that is 38 percent above league average; Freeman’s as a Dodger is 50 percent above.. Olson is 32 and four years younger than Freeman, and he is described as a more highly rated (and elite) defender.. This season, Olson is also an early candidate for National League MVP.
Freeman won that award with the Braves in the shortened 2020 season, and placed in the top five in each of his first two seasons with the Dodgers. Olson’s highest MVP finish came after he hit 54 homers in his second year with the Braves, landing him fourth.
Durability has also been part of the argument for their long-term deals.. Olson has yet to miss a game since joining the Braves. with a streak of 826 consecutive games—the majors’ second longest since 2000.. Freeman averaged more than 150 games in his first four seasons with the Dodgers and has missed only two this year.
On regular-season performance alone. Freeman already has outperformed his contract according to FanGraphs’ dollars metric. with one season remaining after this one.. The metric converts WAR to a dollar scale based on what a player would earn in free agency. and the piece notes that the method—based on the escalating value of WAR—probably underestimates players’ worth.
Olson is close to outperforming his contract as well. He has three seasons at $22 million annually remaining after this one, plus a $20 million club option for 2030. Sixth in the majors with a 1.000 OPS, he “sure doesn’t appear anywhere near decline.”
The pattern across these two careers is clear: each player’s value has been measured not just by output, but by durability and contract-scale production—Freeman’s awards and walk-off moment in 2024, and Olson’s consecutive-game streak alongside contract remaining structure and current OPS+.
No notes! For both the players and the clubs, everything turned out great.
There’s another team rivalry sitting underneath the league’s everyday noise.
No matter how hard the Chicago Cubs try, they can’t shake the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs started well while trying to end the Brewers’ run of four NL Central titles in the past five seasons, assembling two separate 10-game winning streaks. Yet Milwaukee is only 2 1/2 games out of first place.
The gap could tighten further.. The Brewers have the better run differential—+60 to +43—and entered Thursday in the top five in both runs per game and ERA.. Even with injuries and absences—Freddy Peralta was traded. Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester went down. and the team played a chunk of the season without left fielder Jackson Chourio. first baseman Andrew Vaughn. and designated hitter Christian Yelich—Milwaukee is still right there.
The Brewers may soon roll out an entirely new left side of their infield.. Cooper Pratt. signed to an eight-year. $50.75 million extension. looms as the replacement for Joey Ortiz. who is batting .200 with a .504 OPS.. Ortiz is a terrific defender, but Milwaukee also love Pratt’s defense.. Like Ortiz. Pratt will face offensive questions. though his .342 on-base percentage at Triple A is described as at least somewhat encouraging.
Third baseman Luis Rengifo. signed to a one-year. $3.5 million free-agent contract. also is in a vulnerable position. thanks in part to his .578 OPS.. Jett Williams. acquired from the New York Mets in the Peralta trade. could take over third at some point. with David Hamilton remaining in a utility role.
Ortiz, too, could become a utility man—an idea tied to how Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas can attest, since Rojas, 37, has earned more than $40 million in his career. He is not as good a defender as Ortiz.
In Seattle, the question isn’t whether the Mariners have options—it’s how to juggle them.
The loss of catcher Cal Raleigh to a right oblique strain is a bad problem for the Mariners. But the team’s temporary shift to a six-man rotation to accommodate the return of right-hander Bryce Miller is called a good problem—and could get even more complicated as the deadline nears.
Carrying an extra starter for the next week makes sense for Seattle because it’s in the middle of a 13-game stretch without a day off. But if everyone stays healthy, an adjustment later this month will be required.
Club officials are hesitant to move any of the starters to the bullpen, preferring to keep all of them stretched out. The pitcher previously on the Tacoma shuttle, Emerson Hancock, is not about to return to Triple A because his 3.21 ERA is the rotation’s second-lowest.
Piggybacking starters—Miller and Luis Castillo is one possible pairing—could solve part of the issue. but also might create other problems.. Castillo, the team’s highest-paid and most veteran player, has never made a major-league appearance in relief.. Miller has never done it either.. Keeping all six starters indefinitely would complicate the bullpen by altering usage patterns and leaving the group one reliever short.
In other words: something would likely break one way or another. One starter could get injured at some point, or benefit from a break. If Seattle is reasonably healthy at the deadline, trading a starter is another path.
Beyond its current six, lefty Kade Anderson—the third overall pick out of LSU in the 2025 draft—has a 0.60 ERA, 47 strikeouts, and five walks in 30 innings at Double A. Still, the organization would be reluctant to compromise depth, knowing it could be diminished at any time.
That calculation has urgency because J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena are both eligible for free agency after this season. With Colt Emerson likely taking over at short, the infield vacancy would be at third base.
Because the free-agent market will be thin, Seattle might want to start planning now.. The obvious starting pitcher to move would be Castillo. owed the balance of his $22.75 million salary this season and another $22.75 million next season.. His deal includes a $1 million assignment bonus if traded, plus a vesting or conditional option for 2028.
Castillo, 33, entered his start in Houston on Thursday with a 6.57 ERA, though part of that is attributed to poor luck.. His strand rate was low. his home-run rate was high. and opponents’ batting average on balls in play was .364—nearly 80 points above league average.. He showed progress against the Astros, allowing three runs in 5 5/3 innings, including a solo shot by Yordan Alvarez.
And in Washington, the question is how something that looks like a rebuild keeps producing.
The Washington Nationals are rebuilding, and their biggest offensive addition was outfielder Joey Wiemer, a waiver claim from the San Francisco Giants. Yet with the season more than one-fourth complete, the Nationals entered Thursday ranked second in the majors in runs per game.
Much of it has been driven by CJ Abrams and James Wood. Abrams, the shortstop, was eighth in the majors in OPS; Wood, the right fielder, was 14th in OPS. Both also had big first halves last season, which raises the specter of regression.
But there’s another set of changes.. The new front office’s emphasis on better swing decisions is described as starting to take hold.. Prior to Thursday’s 15-1 loss in Cincinnati. the Nationals were chasing at a higher rate than last season. yet overall were swinging less.. Their walk rate rose from 7.4 percent last season (28th in the league) to 9.5 percent (17th).
First-time manager Blake Butera is also described as making use of the entire roster in a style that low-revenue clubs often use. with Tampa Bay and Milwaukee referenced as parallels.. The Nationals and Colorado Rockies entered Thursday as the only teams to feature 13 players with 70 or more plate appearances. according to Stats Perform.
Beyond Abrams and Wood, Wiemer, José Tena, Curtis Mead, and Daylen Lile were all at least 22 percent above league average in OPS+. Mead, like Wiemer, is characterized as a seemingly minor addition, acquired from the Chicago White Sox at the end of March.
How long it lasts is uncertain, and one deadline question will revolve around what happens with Abrams. He is under club control for two more seasons after this one.
Abrams, 25, has changed his bat path, helping him hit the ball harder, and nearly doubled his walk rate—from 5.8 percent to 10.6 percent. That improved plate discipline helped fuel an increase in slugging percentage, from .433 to .539, described as nearly 100 points.
The market angle matters too.. Barring injuries, shortstop generally isn’t a position of need for contenders at the deadline.. The Rays this season are noted as a possible exception because their offensive production at shortstop is among the league’s worst.. Even so, the piece says a better market for Abrams most likely develops in the offseason.. It also notes that the free-agent market will be practically devoid of shortstops unless Bo Bichette opts out and teams again view him as capable at the position.
In Arizona, the adjustments are personal.
At 35, Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado said, “I don’t feel old. But the way I was playing was old.” After two disappointing seasons and another slow start, he tried a new training method: hitting off a pitching machine set up at angles outside the normal release area.
The change is described as helping. In his last 100 plate appearances, Arenado is batting .333 with six homers and a .998 OPS.
Previously, Arenado said his pregame offensive routine amounted to “tee, flips, BP, go play.” He acknowledged, “That hasn’t worked for me in years.”
By hitting off pitching machines at different angles, Arenado said he is subconsciously forced to get his body into the right position, not thinking about his hands or anything mechanical, “just reacting.”
“I wish I didn’t have to do these things,” he said. “But I’ve got to get the most out of myself.”
Over in Denver, the story is about a revival.
Colorado Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak is highlighted as Dude of the Week on “Fair Territory.” Moniak. who turned 28 on Wednesday. was selected first overall in the 2016 draft out of La Costa Canyon H.S.. in Carlsbad, Calif.. He never caught on with the Phillies. who traded him at the 2022 deadline as part of a package for right-hander Noah Syndergaard.. He then never caught on with the Angels, who released him at the end of spring training in 2025.
The Rockies signed Moniak two days later. He broke out last season, batting .270 with 24 homers and an .824 OPS. On Thursday morning, he woke up the major-league leader in slugging percentage, and second only to the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice in OPS.
Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said, “I did not know him before he got here.. I just know that since he has been here. there has been a feeling of belonging for him and he knows the people here believe in him and love what he does.” He added. “He’s a real leader in the clubhouse.. That comes naturally for him.. Maybe he has just finally settled in with everything and let his skills shine.. Sometimes it can be tough to have a ton of expectations on you from the beginning.. Sometimes it just takes some time to be OK with who you are.”
Playing at Coors Field is helping Moniak, whose OPS is 1.255 at home and .823 on the road. The piece also pushes back on talk of him becoming a quick bust, arguing that the 2016 draft was one of the thinnest in recent memory and that someone had to be chosen first.
The four players selected after Moniak—Nick Senzel, Ian Anderson, Riley Pint, and Corey Ray—have combined for -0.4 bWAR. Pete Alonso, the leader in bWAR from that draft, went 64th overall.
Freddie Freeman Matt Olson Anthony Rizzo Anthony Rizzo opt-out Atlanta Braves Los Angeles Dodgers Milwaukee Brewers Chicago Cubs Cal Raleigh Bryce Miller Luis Castillo Washington Nationals CJ Abrams James Wood Nolan Arenado Mickey Moniak