Braves: Countdown is on to Sign Freddie Freeman Before Lockout

If the Atlanta Braves are going to get a Freddie Freeman deal done before the upcoming lockout, then time is officially running out. 

There are plenty of reasons for the Atlanta Braves and Freddie Freeman to want to get a deal done as soon as possible, which is why it’s so bizarre that it hasn’t already happened.

I had predicted on our last podcast that it would happen the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving … I was clearly wrong.

While Alan and Fred both thought it would happen around the 29th or 30th.

The basic line of thinking for all three of us was the same, they need to get this done before the lockout.

If roster activity is truly frozen during the lockout as many believe it will be, and the two sides can’t come to an agreement before December 2, then we’re looking at a long, cold offseason for Braves fans.

It’s certainly possible that a deal doesn’t get done before then, but I can imagine either side would want to go into a lockout — with no idea of when it will actually end — without having a deal in place.

What Would Push the Braves to Make it Happen

I’ve been contemplating this for a while now — but it seems like the Braves are just bidding against themselves, which is why they’ve had no pressure to increase their offer.

It’s almost like the Braves are using Freddie’s desire to stay in Atlanta against him.

Other teams know that Freddie wants to stay in Atlanta — he’s said it publicly that never wants to put on another jersey.

That makes negotiations difficult for Freddie’s agent as he’s basically negotiating with one team.

While I would hope the Braves would treat their franchise player better and give in a little, it’s starting to feel like they have no reason to up their offer until another team enters the mix.

Maybe it’s a leak from the agent about a mystery team, maybe it’s a legit offer from the Dodgers, Angels, or Yankees. But it’s starting to feel like until another team starts to aggressively pursue Freddie, the Braves aren’t going to budge on their offer.

And that’s the smart move from a business standpoint, but still, this is Freddie Freeman. I only hope when another team does get involved and push negotiations it’s not too little, too late.