First Baseman Matt Olson subject of Guardians’ interest

Oakland Athletics’ first-baseman, Matt Olson is reportedly attracting attention from the Cleveland Guardians and a move could potentially materialise once the lockout ends.

Currently, nothing concrete is in place, however, it is believed that Olson is certainly set to be in demand and the Guardians could well have to sweeten the deal with at least a couple of trades with Bobby Bradley and even one of their strongest pitchers moving the other way.

Statement of intent from the Guardians?

Should the Guardians be successful in an attempt to bring in Olson, it would signal to the rest of the division that they are serious about competing for the World Series in the new season.

The problem for the Guardians would likely be having to give up one of their star players, such as Bradley, who posted impressive stats last season, especially considering that there is no telling what kind of condition Josh Naylor is going to be in when he returns from his ankle injury.

After finishing second, significantly behind the Chicago White Sox, in the AL Central division last season, their points haul when compared to other high ranking teams in the other five leagues meant that it wasn’t good enough to make the playoffs, so no doubt, this will be the minimum objective for the 2022 campaign.

Bringing in someone of Olson’s calibre can certainly make a difference and he could be just the player to give them an edge over the coming months.

Under arbitration, Olson will earn $12 million this season – affordable for the Guardians, who have a wage bill that is just over four times that amount, with the player set to hit free agency in 2023.

The Guardians will surely be hoping that this is a move that can come off with the next campaign set to be a crucial one in terms of the progress that fans will be expecting them to make.

While it remains to be seen whether something will materialise on this front, as the saying goes “there is no smoke without fire”.