Dodgers: LA Not Likely to Offer Freddie Freeman the Six-Year Deal the Slugger Wants
The MLB offseason will soon become a frenzied race for player signings once the lockout is over. There are several top free agents still available, including two that have been linked to the Dodgers throughout the winter. We've just gotten some more information regarding Carlos Correa's contract demands as a top free agent, but today we're focusing on Freddie Freeman.
The Dodgers lost shortstop Corey Seager to the Texas Rangers in December, and they've been looking for a left-handed power bat since then. It's tough to imagine Freeman departing the Atlanta Braves.
But as the offseason has gone on, more and more people have said that a team willing to offer him what he wants in terms of contract length and AAV has a shot to pry him away from Atlanta.
Freeman's future with the Braves has been a topic of much debate in the media. Freeman rejected a five-year, $135 million offer from the Braves and is said to be seeking a six-year contract worth as much as $200 million, according to reports.
This week, ESPN's Alden Gonzalez identified five possible destinations for Freeman, including the Yankees and Dodgers.
Gonzalez believes that the Dodgers would pursue Freeman with a short-term, high AVV contract offer.
...but the big question with the Dodgers, as always, is contract length. It's hard to see them going six years for Freeman. Their hope, if their budget allows, would probably be to sway him with higher salaries on a shorter deal.
It sounds great on paper for the Dodgers, but this could be Freeman's last shot at a big contract. At 32, a three-year deal would have him re-entering free agency as a 35-year-old. Recent history shows that aging sluggers can't expect big money at 35.
Former Dodger and current Braves coach Eric Young predicts that Freeman will have "Braves across his chest" come next season. That being said, Young did admit that anything is a possibility.
It's the seventh week of the lockout. It's time to get a new CBA signed so the best first baseman in the league can make the biggest decision of his MLB career.
