Braves First Baseman Matt Olson Too late, had to start hitting.

First baseman Matt Olson’s lack of substantial contributions cannot continue to be tolerated by the Atlanta Braves.
Slumps happen to even the finest baseball players. An All-Star may experience a “down year” or an unsatisfactory first half of the season. The latter is a well-known expression for a reason, after all.

However, the remainder of the roster must to be healthy and productive for a team to succeed even in the face of a “down year” from a preseason MVP candidate.

In 2024, that will not be the case for the Atlanta Braves.

Another National League wild card candidate, the St. Louis Cardinals, were the team the Braves lost a series against to start the second half of the season. Worse yet, the Braves suffered injuries prior to and during the series finale that cost them starter Max Fried and second baseman Ozzie Albies.

Following their defeat on Sunday, the Braves declared that Albies had broken his left wrist. Fortunately for him, he will return two weeks ahead of the regular season finale.

Fried also succumbed to left forearm neutiris in Atlanta. The Braves appear more upbeat. Fried will be back soon, but not before missing a few starts.

Due to injuries, outfielders Ronald Acuña and Michael Harris II are already out for the Braves. The Braves lost one-third of their lineup from the team that led baseball in runs scored the previous season without Albies.

It’s probable that the Braves will play the remainder of the regular season without the third member of their lineup.

Before the July 30 trade deadline, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos will undoubtedly be on the phone looking for outfield and rotation alternatives. Additionally, prospect Nacho Alvarez, who might make his Major League debut on Monday, might provide the Braves a lift.

However, it is unlikely that Alvarez and the new players would be able to make up for all of the output lost by the team’s injured players. Star players like first baseman Matt Olson have to pick up some of the slack.

The 30-year-old had what may have been his poorest MLB season in 2024 after having his best one in 2023. He cut.230/.309/.405, netting 44 RBI and 13 home runs in the first half. The second half of the season saw Olson go 0-for-12 versus the Cardinals.

With his dismal weekend, Olson’s 2024 slugging percentage has dropped to .392. He led the league with a .604 slugging percentage behind 54 home runs last year.

The 0-for-the-weekend is a continuation of the poor finish to the first half for Olson. After Sunday, he’s 14-for-104 (.135) with only 4 extra-base hits over the past month.

If there’s any good news, Olson put the ball in play, striking out just twice, over the weekend. But overall, his analytics are not positive.

Olson’s .283 BABIP this season is pretty much right in line with his career total in the category (.280). That means his struggles in 2024 don’t really steam from bad luck.

Olson’s hard hit rate is also the lowest it’s ever been in his career except for the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Last year, he recorded a 55.6% hard-hit rate. This year, that percentage is down to 47.2%.

None of what Olson has done to this point, though, matters all that much. If he can turn it around, the Braves will forget all about his struggles through the first four months of the season.