The Atlanta Braves surprised the MLB universe on Monday afternoon by swinging a deal with the Oakland Athletics for first baseman Matt Olson.
Prospects Shea Langeliers, Cristian Pache, Joey Estes, and Ryan Cusick will be part of the A’s organization from now on.
One of the takeaways of the deal is that Freddie Freeman, unless something crazy happens, will not be returning to the team he has played his entire career with.
He is reportedly looking for a six-year contract in the neighborhood of $180 million.
The Braves didn’t have such a big problem with the money, but they didn’t want to go six years and that ended up pushing them away from a franchise legend.
Freeman will now have to find himself a new team.
Although his price tag is certainly high, there will be no shortage of suitors.
“Rays and Blue Jays have ‘remained aggressive’ for Freddie Freeman but Yankees and Dodgers seem to be the favorites to sign him, per @mlbbowman,” B/R Walkoff tweeted.
Rays and Blue Jays have ‘remained aggressive’ for Freddie Freeman but Yankees and Dodgers seem to be the favorites to sign him, per @mlbbowman pic.twitter.com/thf2RBSdwJ
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) March 14, 2022
The source, in this case, is as reliable as they come: Mark Bowman, who works for MLB.com, has been covering the Braves since 2001.
Who Will Land Freeman?
The Yankees haven’t quite had the offseason their fans wanted, so they could make a move and bring in Freeman to bolster their first base situation.
The Dodgers, however, should be seen as the favorites, since Freeman grew up on the West Coast and Los Angeles has the money and willingness to pay him.
Yes, Freeman is 32, but he remains an elite bat from the left side of the plate.
Last year, he slashed .300/.393/.503 with 31 home runs, 120 runs scored, and 83 RBI.
He was a beast in the playoffs, too.
In the end, he will probably get that six-year contract he deserves somewhere.
It will not be in Atlanta, though.
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