The Los Angeles Dodgers have several notable free agents that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said he would like to re-sign, but acknowledged such an outcome is improbable.
Some believed Corey Seager was the most likely to leave the Dodgers in free agency, and that came to fruition as he agreed to a 10-year, $325 million contract with the Texas Rangers. Prior to L.A. failing to re-sign Seager, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman speculated Freddie Freeman could be a replacement.
Freeman of course is not a shortstop, but the Dodgers do have Trea Turner under team control at least through the 2022 season and Max Muncy is capable of playing second base — but he revealed the recovery process from a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left elbow has gone slowly.
That would place more of an emphasis on Freeman’s left-handed bat replacing Seager’s and possibly Muncy’s bat in the Dodgers’ lineup.
There also are financial implications. As one of the top shortstops available, Seager was projected to command a contract in the neighborhood of eight or nine years and upwards of $300 million. Freeman potentially could be signed for nearly half that.
Many have forecasted the 32-year-old to sign a deal similar to the five-year, $130 million contract extension Paul Goldschmidt received. Goldschmidt was entering his age-32 season when it took effect in 2020, which Freeman is now heading into.
Seager was limited to just 95 games this past season because of a right hand fracture that effectively ended what was taking shape as an MVP-caliber campaign. He finished the season batting .306/.394/.521 with 22 doubles, 16 home runs and 57 RBI.
Freeman’s production declined from a 2020 MVP season, but he still hit a productive .300/.393/.503 with 25 doubles, 31 home runs and 83 RBI over 159 games. He earned a third consecutive Silver Slugger Award and finished ninth in the final NL MVP voting.
How realistic is Dodgers signing Freeman?
Although Freeman may be an intriguing fallback option for the Dodgers, there are multiple hurdles that would appear to make the signing unlikely.
Like Seager, Freeman rejected the qualifying offer. If L.A. were to sign the first baseman, they would lose their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2022 MLB Draft, as well as $1 million from their international bonus pool for the upcoming signing period.
The Dodgers are gaining a compensatory pick after the fourth round of the 2022 Draft for losing Seager, and could receive another if Chris Taylor signs elsewhere. Though, the compensatory picks are dependent on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Aside from being an organization that values draft picks, perhaps the biggest obstacle to the Southern California native returning home is Freeman has become synonymous with the Braves since they selected him in the second round of the 2007 Draft.
And with Freeman coming off a season in which he helped lead Atlanta to their first World Series since 1995, it’s difficult to envision the organization allowing their longtime first baseman to get away.
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