GLENDALE, AZ – In the days and weeks following the MLB lockout, the media, fans, almost all of Los Angeles were on “Freddie Freeman Watch.” Where would the superstar free agent, only months removed from a World Series championship with the Atlanta Braves, ultimately land?
The Los Angeles Dodgers had been linked to him even before the lockout and actually made a mad dash to sign him in the hours leading up to the work stoppage.
After the lockout the Braves and Freeman were still not on the same page with a new deal and Atlanta decided to move on trading for Oakland A’s All-Star first baseman Matt Olson and then signing him to a massive extension to replace Freeman.
That put the Dodgers in the driver’s seat, but it wasn’t imminent as Freeman entertained other offers from the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays just to name a few.
In the end, it was the Dodgers who signed the former champion, five-time All-Star, and Gold Glove first baseman to a six-year, $162 million contract to give them another former MVP in their lineup and a strong all-around hitter and defender. Not to mention he essentially replaces the production left behind by 2020 NLCS and World Series MVP Corey Seager, who signed with the Texas Rangers earlier this offseason.
For Freeman, it’s a chance to not only play for a World Series contender that he’s faced three of the last four years in October, but a golden opportunity to play close to where he grew up. Freeman was born in Fountain Valley and attended El Modena High School in Orange so to play in front of family and friends in Southern California was also too good to pass up.
Perhaps what sealed the deal for Freeman to become the latest star in Dodger blue was how much the organization really wanted him. He received many calls and was on Zoom meetings with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts. He even received numerous phone calls from Dodgers team captain and third baseman Justin Turner.
Freeman seemed disappointed that the Braves, the team he spent 15 years including 12 in the majors, only called him twice throughout this entire free agent process. The Dodgers not only showed him the money but the love as well and Freeman decided it was time to move on to Los Angeles.
He comes into a situation that is not only loaded with talented stars but high character guys who are also devoted family men, just like Freeman. The only two things he seems to care about are winning and family, which is a culture the Dodgers have worked hard to cultivate over the last six seasons making Freeman an ideal fit.
The Dodgers’ lineup one through nine will be one of the most potent in the league with an elite mix of speed and power. There will be no easy outs in a lineup that has Freeman, Turner, Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, AJ Pollock, and Chris Taylor.
Even with a loaded lineup, championships aren’t won on paper. You have to play the games, you have to stay healthy, you have to hit, pitch, play defense, and dig out close games.
We’ve seen many deep and talented Dodger teams and other squads throughout the MLB fall short through the years as they often struggle in October or another team gets very hot (see Freeman’s 2021 Braves).
However, this plays out the Dodgers are still a better team today with Freeman on-board. Even at 32-years-old, he’s coming off the best three year stretch of his career and now is joining a team that won 106 games and will hopefully help the Dodgers get back to the World Series and win it all.
