There really isn’t any mystery here: the Atlanta Braves and Freddie Freeman‘s representation know the numbers involved. Further delays could be disastrous.
Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos has regularly been exercising one of two paths when pursuing his free-agent targets:
- Sign them quickly – particularly if there’s a 1-year deal that can be had
- Run out the clock and sign them late
Recent examples of the former include Josh Donaldson prior to the 2019 season, plus Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly before the 2021 season. All were inked during November of the prior year.
On the other hand, we saw mixed results as Anthopoulos laid out his offers for ex-Braves Marcell Ozuna and Donaldson:
- After a largely successful 2020 season, Ozuna finally accepted Anthopoulos’ terms to return for 2021 on February 5th… just a week prior to Spring training.
- On January 22nd, 2020, Josh Donaldson reluctantly accepted a higher offer from the Twins after waiting on the Braves for what seemed like a month.
- Reports at the time suggested that while the Braves finally gave in on a 4th year, the Twins added a 5th year kicker for 2024 which guaranteed at least $8 million in that season.
Freddie Freeman appears to be in that latter category: a Braves player achieving free agent status and looking for a multi-year deal from Atlanta with no pretense about his desire to stay.
There’s a huge difference between the Ozuna/Donaldson cases and Freeman’s, though:
- Donaldson was an injury risk. He also didn’t end up with more than a couple of teams genuinely bidding for his services (Twins/Braves).
- Ozuna likewise ran out of teams needing his bat… and his glove was a known liability, particularly in a National League setting. Thus his leverage was limited.
Not so Freeman: the players you can count on to play 160+ games every year are few and far between. Yes, we dodged a bullet on Donaldson, but again: Freeman isn’t Donaldson.
Therefore, if/when the day comes when his agent declares “we’re open to club other than the Braves”, he will immediately have multiple inquiries… and perhaps that has already happened.
Maybe the waiting game works when there’s a player with limited leverage in negotiations. That’s not the case for the 2020 MVP and 3-time Silver Slugger who just helped you win a World Series. Others will step up.
Atlanta’s payroll will be higher in 2022, but the extra should just about finance Freeman’s raise… while Ronald Acuna is getting a $10 million jump of his own in 2022. So if Anthopoulos is looking to spark a bidding war, he’s a few bullets short of a magazine… others will be much better armed.
So this isn’t time to play bluffing games with the face of your franchise: with limited Plan B options and limited funds to use otherwise, this is a matter of here and now.
Go ahead and add a year. Then also add a couple million dollars more per year. Don’t wait around. Get it done and then let’s see how the rest of the Winter goes.
If you want to see the goodwill of Braves Country turn on a dime, then make Freeman play elsewhere for the rest of his career. Right now, everyone is happy. Blow this, and things won’t go well.