There are growing rumors within the baseball industry that the Atlanta Braves and Freddie Freeman will continue their lives in separate ways.
What sounded impossible a couple of years ago is now likely: the Braves don’t seem desperate to re-sign their star first baseman, whose eight-year, $135 million extension signed before the 2014 season just expired after the Braves’ World Series victory.
In fact, they were linked to Oakland Athletics’ first baseman Matt Olson as a potential substitute for Freeman, and even during the lockout, his name continues to be mentioned in the rumor mill.
It appears the Braves are starting to think about a future without Freeman, who hit .300/.393/.503 with 31 home runs, 120 runs scored, and a .896 OPS in 2021.
Freeman reportedly wants a six-year pact worth something close to $180 million: at 32, it may sound like a big commitment, but he has certainly earned every penny.
He was the NL MVP in 2020, and hit five homers in the 2021 playoffs, as Atlanta surprised the Milwaukee Brewers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Houston Astros en route to the Fall Classic win.
The Braves Not Paying Freeman After The Acuna And Albies Deals Is Preposterous
One can understand a team not giving a 32-year-old player a $180 million deal, but not the Braves.
We are talking about a team who signed two of the game’s best players, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies, to under-market, team-friendly contracts.
Albies signed a seven-year $35 million contract extension with Atlanta in April 2019, including club options for 2026 and 2027.
That deal was a robbery, a blasphemy to every decent agent in the world of professional sports.
Acuna, meanwhile, put ink to paper on an eight-year, $100 million pact a few days before Albies.
The Braves are stealing money from Ronald Acuña and Ozzie Albies. If they let Freddie Freeman walk without making the best offer, their fans should be furious. What a joke that would be. https://t.co/NBtRTCNeve
— Chris Towers In A Taylor Swift Shirt (@CTowersCBS) February 22, 2022
For a player of Acuna’s talent, that deal is also a joke.
They downright robbed two of their best players, and they don’t want to spend on Freeman?
Fans have every right to be mad at the Braves.
NEXT: Freddie Freeman May Be Breaking Up With The Braves