Braves Lost Freddie Freeman Because Of One Demand

Freddie Freeman is heading out west, meaning his days with the Atlanta Braves are over.

This was pretty much a formality, given that the Braves went ahead and traded for Matt Olson, but Freeman is officially a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Braves’ offer to Freeman was a five-year offer worth $140 million, which is a pretty good offer to be fair.

The Dodgers signed him to a six-year, $162 million deal late last night.

And thus stands the reason why the Braves were unable to keep their star first baseman.

He wanted one more year on his new contract and the Braves simply did not offer it.

Freddie Freeman, who lives in Corona Del Mar, gets to stay home in his six-year, $162M deal with the #Dodgers. He signs one day later than Matt Olson's eight-year, $168 million deal with Atlanta. Atlanta's last known offer to Freeman was five years, $140M.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 17, 2022

Olson Was Signed For More

Freeman signed with Los Angeles just a day after the Braves locked up Olson on an eight-year, $168 million contract extension.

It’s interesting that the Braves were willing to give Olson more years and more money.

The Braves could have certainly pulled this off for Freeman, and it’s puzzling as to why they didn’t just cash in and offer him an extra year worth a little more money.

That is almost certain to have kept Freeman in Atlanta.

But Olson ended up getting the larger deal, which is puzzling for many, including Braves fans.

Of course, Atlanta fans aren’t going to complain about losing Freeman when they now have Olson, one of the brightest young stars in the game today.

They will certainly miss Freeman, but Olson being added makes it seem as if they’re not even skipping a beat.

Atlanta still looks like a dangerous team that can compete for a World Series title in 2022, and Braves fans should still be excited about the team they have as of now.