In the 2021 offseason, the Atlanta Braves made the controversial decision to let Freddie Freeman, a franchise legend who had just led the team to a World Series title, walk in free agency. Freeman received a six-year, $162 million offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Braves famously did not want to give the legend a sixth guaranteed year. Even though the Braves acquired an All-Star, Matt Olson, to replace him, many Braves fans were infuriated with the organization for letting a player of Freeman's stature go.
There have been times when letting Freeman walk has looked bad. He's been a great player in L.A. most of the time he's been there, and has had several iconic moments in Dodger Blue, including a pair of walk-off home runs in the World Series. How's this decision looking now, though? The decision to let Freeman walk and replace him with Olson looks better and better by the day, with Freeman's decline playing a major role.
Freddie Freeman is not the superstar he once was
Freeman was performing at a superstar level in the first four years of his contract with the Dodgers, hitting .310 with a .907 OPS with more postseason moments to remember than we can count. This season, however, he hit .288 with a career-low .792 OPS in the regular season, and somehow, it feels like only been regressing as the year has progressed. Freeman hit just one home run and had a .681 OPS in the second half of the regular season, and while he hit a couple of home runs in the NLDS against Atlanta, he's 5-for-26 (.192 BA) in the postseason overall, and 1-for-11 in the NLCS. Freeman has no-showed when the Dodgers have needed him most, alongside many of his star teammates.
It's easy to blame Freeman for his performance, but it's also worth noting that he's 37 years old. Father Time is undefeated at the end of the day, and that's exactly why the Braves were hesitant when it came to giving Freeman, who was already over the age of 30 while playing a position that historically doesn't age well, such a long deal.
Now, the Dodgers not only have to watch Freeman look overmatched with their season and three-peat on the line, but they have Freeman locked in for another year. If Freeman is declining at age 37, how will he look when he's a year older? Meanwhile, the Braves have Matt Olson, who is very much in his prime.
Matt Olson is making it easy for the Braves to forget all about Freddie Freeman
Olson has been just as good, if not better, than Freeman since the two changed teams ahead of the 2022 campaign. Sure, he isn't the contact hitter Freeman is, but Olson has hit at least 29 home runs, driven in 90 runs, and appeared in 162 games in each of his five seasons in Atlanta. He quite literally hasn't missed a single regular-season game since joining his hometown team. Since being traded to the Braves, Olson leads the majors in games played (810), ranks fifth in home runs (187) and third in RBI (528). Is that good? Oh, he's also made three All-Star teams, won a Silver Slugger, and he's a finalist to win his second Gold Glove in a Braves uniform. Again, is that good?
His postseason numbers have admittedly not measured up, and that's absolutely an issue, but is there really an argument regarding who the better player is overall right now? Olson is better, five years younger, cheaper (Olson makes $21 million annually while Freeman makes $27 million per year), and he's signed for longer, giving Atlanta more stability. Freeman will be a free agent after the 2027 campaign, while Olson is locked in through 2029 (with a club option for 2030). By that point, Olson will be 35 or 36 when he hits free agency, while Freeman is already older than that right now.
It's never easy to watch a franchise legend walk, and Braves fans have had to do just that with Freeman, Max Fried and Dansby Swanson, to name a few, in recent years. However, while you can argue that Fried and Swanson should've been brought back, can Braves fans really deny that Olson is an upgrade over Freeman at this point?
There're plenty of things the Braves should regret. Having Olson, a 32-year-old who might be the best overall player at his position right now, over Freeman, a 37-year-old in a steep decline, is not one of them.
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