9 trade targets for the Colorado Rockies from the Oakland A’s

Oakland A’s first baseman Matt Olson is on the trade block and he would help the Colorado Rockies

Oakland A’s first baseman Matt Olson is, arguably, the best first baseman available on the trade or free agent market that’s not named Freddie Freeman. There already have been plenty of rumors surrounding him this offseason and, particularly, his fit with the New York Yankees. However, the Colorado Rockies are a fit for him … if the designated hitter comes to the National League.

Olson, who turns 28 a few days before Opening Day, played in 156 games in 2021 for Oakland and he had 35 doubles, 39 homers, and 111 RBI with a slash line of .271/.371/.540 with an OPS+ of 153. Defensively, he had six Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and he finished the season with a 5.8 rWAR was an All-Star and came in 8th in AL MVP voting.

In 2020, he struggled with the batting average (.195) but he still had an OPS of .734 and an OPS+ of 103. In 2019, he hit 36 homers and had 91 RBI with a slash line of .267/.351/.545 and an OPS+ of 139. He also had 12 DRS. All of that came in just 127 games, meaning he was on pace for 46 homers, 115 RBI, and 15 DRS. He came in 21st in AL MVP voting and won a Gold Glove.

But for him to fit the Rockies, a few things would have to happen. First and foremost, the NL would have to adopt the DH so that C.J. Cron could play first and or DH. Rockies GM said that they don’t want a full-time DH and likely wouldn’t want their two best bats revolving between first and DH. However, that’s where the second thing comes in. Olson does have a handful of games played in right field in his career. The Rockies would probably want to utilize that if they got Olson.

However, given that he hasn’t played right field since 2017 and given that Olson will get somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million in his second year of arbitration this offseason, he could be out of the Rockies price range for a trade and for the money.