Arguably the biggest fish in the free agent pond has officially been landed. Former Braves 1st baseman Freddie Freeman has come to terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a 6 year $162M deal.
The 32 year old reached free agency for the first time in his career and was determined to test the market. Despite strong interest from Atlanta to try to bring him back, the writing was ultimately on the wall when the Braves dealt for Oakland’s Matt Olson a few days prior.
Freeman led the National League with 120 runs scored in 2021, to go along with a .300BA, 83RBIs and 31HRs. His strong play, coupled with some late season additions at the trade deadline, helped lead Atlanta to their first World Series title in 26 years.
With the signing, the Dodgers now have 4 former MVPs on their team with Freeman, Betts, Kershaw, and Bellinger. It also marks the third consecutive year the club has handed out a contract worth in excess of $100M.
Freeman’s left handed bat was widely coveted amongst teams with postseason aspirations this offseason. The Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Braves, and Phillies were amongst the teams who reportedly attempted to sign the 1st baseman.
Los Angeles now fields one of the most daunting lineups in recent memory. In some order, the Dodgers will be dressing a roster that includes Freeman, Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor and A.J. Pollock.
The 5 time All-Star has now inked the second richest deal in terms of AAV for any first baseman in major league history. The $27M/year figure is bested only by Miguel Cabrera’s massive 8 year deal with the Tigers which saw him paid $31M per season.
Los Angeles is now a heavy favourite at many sports books to win the 2022 World Series, coming in at +500 odds. The next closest team is the Houston Astros at +900, followed by the Blue Jays +950, and Mets at +1100.
The Dodgers open their 2022 regular season on April 8th against the Colorado Rockies.
Photo: Eric Enfermero. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.