MLB: The game’s most valuable first basemen
By Bill Felber
7. Matt Olson, Oakland Athletics, $8.124 million value; $575,000 salary
Matt Olson is a prototype Oakland A. That is, he generates substantial performance for the money he’s paid. Olson’s corner infield doppelganger, Matt Chapman, is of a similar mold.
That will change in a few years as market forces drive up Olson’s contractual leverage, and when it does it will be interesting to see the extent to which, if at all, the A’s front office tries to hold on to him.
Offensively, Olson is front-rank. His 5.1 2019 WAR was actually first among first basemen, and his .545 slugging average ranks fourth. That justifies $4.656 million, which is already a nifty return on a player drawing close to the league minimum.
Olson’s .351 on base average wasn’t quite as lofty, but it still ranked 10th at his position, valuing at more than $2.4 million.
As a fielder, he’s perfectly adequate, if not elite. He played 1,121 innings, basically a top-third number valued at just under $1 million. His 90 assists ranked 11th at the position, generating a final $77,000.
The bottom-line portrait of Olson is of a player making a surprisingly healthy contribution, perhaps quietly. Based solely on his on-field performance, he was more valuable than a bunch of far-better-known and better-compensated guys, among them Jose Abreu, Edwin Encarnacion, and Joey Votto.