16. Atlanta Braves
Identifying the richest-paid player in Braves history has been a fluid assignment in recent years.
When Ronald Acuña Jr. signed an eight-year, $100 million extension in 2019, he was that guy.
Acuña held the distinction through the angst surrounding the breakup with Freddie Freeman, but surrendered it to Freeman’s first base successor, Matt Olson. The Braves signed Olson for eight seasons at $168 million.
Then, a few weeks ago, Braves management rewrote the team’s payroll record book again, signing third baseman Austin Riley to a $22 million deal that will keep him in Atlanta through 2032.
At a $21.2 million AAV, Riley also holds that distinction.
The Braves show a consistent and decided preference for re-upping talent already in the system, a pattern that held true with Acuña, Riley, and Ozzie Albies (seven years, $35 million).
The obvious exception to that rule was Freeman, who walked away to the Dodgers after 2021, and getting $162 million over six seasons to do so.
They offset that loss by trading for and then signing Olson for eight years at $168 million, and you can be the judge of who got the better of the Freeman-Olson “trade.”