Wheelin' and Dealin' and Extendin'

And the "off-season" moves keep on coming!  Hours after the big Donaldson/Sanchez deal between the Twins and Yankees, the Atlanta Braves made a big, bold move of their own. Unwilling to extend their longtime 1st baseman Freddie Freeman the six years he sought at age 32, GM Alex Anthopoulos replaced the homegrown star for a younger replica, by pulling the plug on a big and pricey deal.

Matt Olson arrives from Oakland for a quartet of top prospects. Four years younger than Freeman, he brings similar skills at a lower cost -- even factoring in the contract extension announced Tuesday. He comes with everything but the World Series ring Freeman and his teammates earned last fall. And that's a major "but."

Will Braves fans embrace him as Freeman's replacement? Will they understand that letting the "face of the franchise" go was a business decision? Could sentimental feelings get in the way for a club that just earned its second World Series championship since arriving in the South 56 years ago?  

There's BREAKING NEWS this morning: the exodus from Oakland continues as the A's send standout 3rd baseman Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays for a package of -- you guessed it -- top prospects.


Do you think the intentional gutting of the Oakland club will hurt the chances of getting government approval for their hoped-for new stadium? It certainly won't help.

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