Offseason negotiations between MLB slugger Freddie Freeman and interested teams were not precisely smooth.
The star first baseman, who had lifted the Atlanta Braves to the World Series title in October, wanted a six-year, $180 million contract.
After months of stalled negotiations, he finally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers: a six-year, $162 million pact.
The Braves didn’t want to go six years, and that’s the main reason he went to Los Angeles.
Freeman apparently wasn’t too thrilled with how his agents handled the negotiations.
“Sources: Freddie Freeman, who has told friends he’s angry with how his free-agent negotiations played out, is changing representation, away from Excel. He is currently listed as being self-represented,” ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted.
Sources: Freddie Freeman, who has told friends he's angry with how his free-agent negotiations played out, is changing representation, away from Excel. He is currently listed as being self-represented.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 28, 2022
It’s not clear if he is unhappy about landing on the Dodgers, about leaving Atlanta after playing there for more than a decade, or about his agency’s inability to work out a deal with the Braves.
In any case, he is now self-represented until further notice.
Freeman Loves Atlanta And Vice Versa, But It’s Time To Move On
Freeman recently visited Truist Park, the home of the Braves, for the first time wearing a different uniform.
He was received with a warm welcome, filled with cheers and applauses.
People don’t forget what Freeman did for the city of Atlanta.
He won an MVP award in 2020, several other individual accolades, and helped the franchise win its first World Series title since 1995.
Freeman is a celebrity there.
In any case, life has moved on: he is now a member of the Dodgers, and is doing well there.
As of Tuesday, Freeman is hitting .304/.388/.488 with eight homers and 2.9 Wins Above Replacement, or WAR.
He is now helping the Dodgers, not the Braves, achieve their objectives.
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