6 Braves who went cold at worst possible time, and 1 who didn't
There is more than enough blame to go around for the Atlanta Braves winning just one game this postseason. These players went extremely cold at the plate.
By Josh Wilson
Matt Olson
Matt Olson led the National League in slugging percentage for the 2023 season, a big reason why he was an All-Star. He also lead the entire MLB in home runs and RBI.
While his four hits were far more effective than some of his even deeper-struggling teammates, he put up no RBI and no home runs in a series where Philly seemed to prove Citizens Bank Park was built for a batter like Olson.
Instead, he slashed .250/.294/.250 in the series.
Olson was clearly defeated in the locker room after the elimination Thursday night:
"Yeah it's brutal. They out played us. They out played us last year, they out played us this year."
— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) October 13, 2023
Matt Olson on bxb losses in the NLDS and what the Phillies were doing so well on the mound to be so affective against this lineup.#Braves pic.twitter.com/bKwibphBF1
"They were pitching well, too. They were mixing it up. We really just didn't square too much up," Olson said Thursday night to media.
Marcell Ozuna
After a year of reputation revitalization, Ozuna is nearly back where he ended last year. Of course, his stats are a step forward from the goose egg he put up in the NLDS in 2022 (he went 0-for-8 with no walks), but he still wasn't anything spectacular this series.
Ozuna slashed .154/.267/.154. He struck out in four of his 13 plate appearances, working two walks.
Ozuna parlayed a .687 OPS last year into a .905 this year, proving he wasn't the ineffective player he appeared to be in 2022.
The Braves may honestly look to trade Ozuna while his reputation is high. It remains to be seen if the postseason will leave a sour taste for potential suitors or not, but seeing as how Ozuna was far from the only player to see a slump, a poor NLDS shouldn't impact his trade value too much.