Dodgers will pounce if Braves don’t treat Freddie Freeman like real free agent

Slowly but surely, the MLB rumor mill is turning against the Atlanta Braves for the way they’ve handled Freddie Freeman — which, naturally, is to the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ benefit.

The MLB lockout is draining all of our brain power at the moment, and though some may disagree with what they perceive as the MLBPA’s stubbornness, what we can all agree on is that ownership locked the players out and ownership seems content to sit around and stew.

That same dynamic has led fans, reporters and Dodgers bettors to begin to sour on what the Braves’ suits are doing to Freeman.

As Jake Storiale, aka Talkin’ Jake, lays out in the below video from Jomboy Media (alongside Jomboy himself and former MLB player Trevor Plouffe), Freeman owes nothing to his former team if they don’t plan to treat him like a genuine free agent.

Most of us have written off Freeman’s pursuit of a “new home” this offseason because we struggle to conceive of him in another uniform, viewing him instead as a “statue guy” outside Truist Park in the ATL (suburbs) a decade down the line.

But if Atlanta’s ownership won’t commit to a sixth year, why do we all need to act like Freeman should cave, too?

If the Braves don’t give Freddie Freeman what he’s owed, the Dodgers should pounce.

Six years? That’s child’s play for a Dodgers team that can afford to respect a hometown star to the degree he deserves.

We’re not insinuating there’s some grand chasm developing between Freeman and the Braves, and that either side is at risk of alienating the other/ruining their local legacy.

That does sound like something Atlanta might say to Freeman, though, to get him to reconsider his stricter demands.

Freeman, still 32, likely has six good, low-stress years left at first base, wherever his career continues. If you believe he’ll be valuable through the age of 37, like Atlanta seems to, why wouldn’t you simply commit to another year to close the deal?

Because they’re owners. And owners think they are the central attraction, and players who don’t bend to their will can “have fun” exploring their options.

Freeman has an excellent secondary option in the Dodgers, who should have no problem wooing him the way a recent MVP deserves to be wooed.

Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 way-too-early predictions for 2022 season

What's going to happen to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022 when the lockout ends? We don't know, but here are some way-too-early predictions!