*Photo from Yahoo! Sports*
If Freddie Freeman is indeed leaving the Braves, he'll certainly have a pretty good market for his services. The New York Mets, who already have two first basemen, had reportedly checked in on signing Freeman prior to the December 2 lockout, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.
Freeman, a 5 time all star first baseman, who is 32 years old, was said to be at an impasse with the Atlanta Braves, the only team he's played for, over a contract. Freeman was seeking a 6 year deal in the $180 million range, for about $30 million annually. The Braves were reportedly only willing to offer 5 years, not wanting to go up to 6.
Olney said on the Michael Kay Show that "It's very interesting 'cause you just talked about Steve Cohen saying, 'You know what, I don't care what the tax is, unlike the Red Sox, Yankees, and Dodgers. I'm just going to spend what I need to spend in order to win.' And if he blows past $300 million it really doesn't matter at this point."
Freeman entered the lockout as one of the best remaining free agents. In the regular season last year, he batted .300 with an .896 OPS and .503 slugging percentage, hitting 31 home runs to go along with 83 RBI's in 159 regular season games, making his 5th all star game for the Braves, helping lead them to a world series win over the Houston Astros.
Prior to the lockout, the Mets had themselves another offseason spending spree. They agreed to deals with Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar, Starling Marte, and Max Scherzer, with those 4 deals totaling $254.5 million spent by owner Steve Cohen.
The Mets already have Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith as first basemen, but that wouldn't deter the Mets from signing Freeman. If they were to get him, Alonso would be a candidate to shift to DH with that now being universal, with Smith likely taking a full time role in the outfield, as a likely 3rd string first baseman.
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