Braves: Drake Baldwin is more proof Matt Olson trade was a success

The Braves have been one of the best so far this season when it comes to the catcher position, entering the week ranked second in team catcher WAR (2.4), just behind the Mariners (2.7). As we’ve enjoyed watching, a lot of that is true because of rookie Drake Baldwin.

In fact, the 24-year-old leads Atlanta catchers in that department right now, sporting a .357 AVG to go with five home runs and a 172 wRC+ — good for 1.4 WAR already in just 29 games. The fact that he’s burst onto the scene, along with the Braves finally playing better of late, has been a lot of fun to see.

But what does that have to do with Matt Olson? Baldwin was simply a draft pick by the Braves in the summer of 2022, just months after the Braves moved onto Matt Olson. However, you could make the case that perhaps Baldwin’s current ascent is more proof that GM Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves hit a home run with the Matt Olson trade.

Yes, as Dan Szymborski at FanGraphs pointed out last week in his piece, Freddie Freeman has been 7.4 WAR better than current first baseman Matt Olson so far since the two swapped teams. Except for home runs and RBI, it is true that Freeman has objectively been the better player since 2022. I won’t argue against that. But, along with the fact that Olson is roughly 4.5 years younger than Freeman, there are other aspects to consider that show the Braves are currently sitting pretty good.

The money for both Freddie and Olson is essentially the same. Each are between $20-25 million in terms of AAV, though Olson’s deal is a couple of years longer. Olson is still just 31-years-old, and there’s already been numerous articles regarding the drastic decline once a player reaches his late-30s, which is exactly where Freeman is headed (even if he hasn’t yet slowed down). There will eventually be a day in which Freddie struggles — heck, even Albert Pujols did at a certain point.

But to acquire Olson from the Athletics, the Braves had to send over four prospects, and that’s not nothing — even though the quartet of Cristian Pache, Shea Langeliers, Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes consists of only one that player has worked out so far. And that’s where I think Baldwin really makes all of this look even better.

Langeliers, who’s the only player from the Olson deal the Braves likely miss, has been a rather solid big league player since leaving. Once with Oakland in 2022, he immediately began his MLB career, and since then he carries a .220 AVG and 100 wRC+ in 353 career games. Langeliers posted his best season yet in 2024, totaling 2 WAR thanks to 29 homers and a 109 wRC+. Still just 27-years-old, and thus far having perhaps his best stint at the plate in 2025, he appears to be a potential All-Star catcher for years to come if he can keep it up.

But losing out on Langeliers really doesn’t hurt much, does it? The Braves are doing just fine at catcher. Not only is veteran Sean Murphy locked up through at least 2028, to go with a club-option for the 2029 season. But Baldwin is just getting started and isn’t even arbitration-eligible until after the 2027 season.

Maybe the negative feelings about losing Freddie are gone, and all of this is already realized by most Braves fans who’re paying attention. But reading that FanGraphs post last Wednesday caused me to think about it again. And the bottom-line is the Braves are in a pretty great position when it comes to how things have evolved since losing Freeman.

It could’ve just as easily went the other way: Pache could’ve caught on with the A’s and turned into the next Andruw Jones. Olson could’ve had a sharp decline once in Atlanta. And instead of Baldwin being this good, he could’ve just been an average third-round pick instead of the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year candidate he’s becoming.

A lot of what-ifs to consider, but one thing’s for sure: in terms of how things have progressed up to this point, the Braves shouldn’t miss Freddie. The team has done quite well for itself since losing him. There are several reasons that that’s true, and Baldwin is certainly one of them.

—

Photographer: Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire

The post Braves: Drake Baldwin is more proof Matt Olson trade was a success appeared first on SportsTalkATL.com.