Folks, guess what? No, the MLB lockout is still not over, but we’ve got some actual baseball/free agency news to discuss! And, when thinking about how it could potentially impact the New York Mets, it’d be good news for them and the rest of the National League East…not counting the Atlanta Braves.

MLB insider Jon Heyman shared the following tweet about Freddie Freeman:

 

We obviously don’t know the details of the Tampa Bay Rays’ offer to Freeman. If we’re going to make an assumption, though, it wouldn’t be shocking to see it be some kind of high annual value/short-term deal (similar to what they did with Charlie Morton not too long ago). If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be ideal for Freeman, who is looking for more of a long-term pact to likely take him toward the end of his career.

But still, there are legitimate rumors about Freeman not returning to Atlanta for 2022 and beyond, although Heyman notes they’re still in the mix. We did hear about the New York Yankees having an interest in the first baseman prior to the lockout, and it’d be interesting to see exactly who else would get involved once free agency opens back up.

It is kind of weird that the Braves didn’t re-sign the clear leader in their clubhouse off the heels of winning the World Series. Looking for a five- or six-year deal while entering your age-33 season isn’t exactly an easy ask, but Freeman also hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. His 4.5 fWAR is the ninth straight year he’s posted at least 3.0 in a season, and his .896 OPS is the ninth straight time it’s been above .840.

If baseball ever comes back (it probably will but it’s hard to feel optimistic right now), it’ll be interesting to see what Freeman’s market ends up looking like. There will be plenty of teams scrambling to complete their respective rosters, so the Braves may have some stiff competition if they’d sincerely like to retain the services of their longtime first baseman.