The Los Angeles Dodgers are finalizing a six-year deal with free agent first baseman Freddie Freeman, multiple reports confirmed Wednesday night. Jon Morosi of MLB Network was the first to report that talks were progressing. Jim Bowden of MLB confirmed that it’s happening.
The deal is expected to be in the six-year range with $160 million total on the contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
UPDATE: The deal is for six years, $162 million, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reported.
Freeman, 32, has spent his entire career with the Atlanta Braves, ever since they drafted him in the second round of the 2007 draft. He made his MLB debut in 2010 and has been the Braves’ regular first baseman since 2011.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweeted that the Braves offered Freeman $140 million over five years, but Freeman was seeking a six-year deal. The Orange County native chose to go to LA.
After the Braves recently traded for Matt Olson, it became clear that Freeman was not going to return to Atlanta. He posted a goodbye message to Braves fans earlier Wednesday.
He had a fantastic career in Atlanta, being named to five All-Star games and hitting .295/.384/.509 over 12 major league seasons. He won MVP in 2020 after posting an 1.102 OPS. He’s won a Silver Slugger award in each of the last three seasons.
Most recently, Freeman led the Braves to a world championship. He beat his new team in the NLCS of that postseason run.
The Mets are familiar with Freeman, who’s been a division foe for more than a decade. He’ll now join a team that already consists of stars like Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Trea Turner, Clayton Kershaw and Cody Bellinger. The Dodgers won the World Series in 2020 and won over 100 games last year.
With the DH coming to the National League, the Dodgers have some more flexibility with how they can use Freeman, especially when it pertains to getting Muncy’s bat in the lineup.
