Braves News: Matt Olson sixth on MLB Network’s Top first baseman list

MLB Network is rolling out its positional Top 10 rankings for the 2023 season and Matt Olson is ranked sixth among Major League first baseman heading into the new season. Paul Goldschmidt topped the list and was followed by Freddie Freeman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Jose Abreu and Pete Alonso. This is Olson’s fifth time landing on the preseason Top 10 list.

In addition to Olson, Michael Harris and Ronald Acuña Jr. both ranked fifth among center fielders and right fielders. The remainder of the list will roll out over the next two weeks on Wednesday and Thursday nights on MLB Network.

More Braves News

• The Hall of Fame announcement will take place on Tuesday, January 24. There are five different players on the current ballot that spent time with the Braves and we have been examining their Hall of Fame credentials all week. On Thursday we took a closer look at outfielder Gary Sheffield who is in his ninth year on the ballot.
• Cory McCartney dove into closer Billy Wagner’s Hall of Fame case as the subject of this week’s Starting Nine column.

MLB News

• The Mariners announced Thursday that they have agreed to a one-year deal with veteran infielder Tommy La Stella. To make room on the 40-man roster, Seattle designated one time prospect Justus Sheffield for assignment. La Stella was released by the Giants earlier this offseason despite being owed $11.5 million.
• The Royals and closer Aroldis Chapman agreed on a one-year deal that is worth $3.75 million. The Marlins were also interested in Chapman and he threw a bullpen session for them earlier this week. Yet, he ends up in Kansas City on a one-year deal that includes performance bonuses.
• Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski recently gave an update on Bryce Harper’s recovery from Tommy John surgery and said that he is on track to start swinging a bat by the end of March. Harper is expected to return to Philadelphia’s lineup as the DH sometime around the All-Star break.
• The Giants inked former prospect Ronald Guzman to a minor league deal. Guzman is just 28 and spent most of the 2022 season at the Yankees’ Triple A affiliate.
• The Cubs sent right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. outright to Triple A after he went unclaimed on waivers. Leiter was designated for assignment last week to make room for Eric Hosmer on the 40-man roster.
• Major League Baseball announced the promotion of 10 minor league umpires to the full-time Major League staff. It is the largest rookie class of umpires since the 1999 season. The promotions were necessary to replace a group of 10 umpires that retired after the 2022 season including Tom Hallion, Jerry Meals and Sam Holbrook.