Braves give Olson the juiciest contract after lifting the work stoppage in the Major Leagues

The champions of the last World Series, the Atlanta Braves, gave initialist Matt Olson the biggest contract on Tuesday since the Major Leagues and the players' union ended last week's work stoppage, which lasted 99 days.

The Braves and Olson agreed to sign an agreement for eight years and $168 million. Olson had arrived in Atlanta last week from the Oakland Athletics in a trade.

The agreement with the 27-year-old slugger ties him to the club at least until 2029. The contract also includes a $20 million option for 2030.

The Braves were in charge of filling their greatest need after they could not reach an agreement with stellar first baseman Freddy Freeman, the team's stronghold for more than a decade and a vital contribution to Atlanta winning its first World Series last year since 1995.

Olson comes from an excellent campaign last year, where he averaged .271 with 39 home runs and 111 RBIs. It will collect $15 million this year, $21 million in 2023 and $22 million in each of the next six campaigns.

This is the tenth contract of at least 100 million that has been agreed since the last World Series and the first since the end of the work stoppage.

It is also the juiciest contract in the history of the Braves, leaving behind the 135 million for eight years Freeman had signed after the 2013 season.

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