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In 2022, he will be playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The five-time All-Star first baseman agreed to a six-year, $162
million free agent contract with the Dodgers, multiple media
outlets reported Wednesday night.
Freeman strengthens an already potent Dodgers team that has made
nine consecutive playoff appearances and is just a year and a
half removed from winning a World Series title.
He doesn't even have to displace a bat from the Los Angeles
lineup. Last year's primary Dodgers first baseman, Max Muncy,
could slide into the designated hitter role with the DH being
adopted in the National League for the first time.
Freeman, 32, led the NL with 120 runs last season while hitting
.300 with 31 homers and 83 RBIs. The prior year, in a
pandemic-shortened, 60-game season, Freeman hit .341 with 13
homers, 53 RBIs, a league-leading 51 runs and a league-high 23
doubles.
He has finished in the top 10 in NL MVP voting seven times, and
he won a Gold Glove in 2018.
Freeman has played his entire 12-year major league career with
the Braves, producing a .295 batting average, a .384 on-base
percentage, a .509 slugging percentage, 271 homers and 941 RBIs
in 1,565 games.
In 42 postseason games, he has a .290/.393/.523 batting line
with nine homers and 20 RBIs.
The Braves tacitly acknowledged that Freeman wouldn't be
returning when they acquired first baseman Matt Olson in a trade
with the Oakland A's earlier this week. Olson signed an
eight-year, $168 million contract with Atlanta on Tuesday.
--Field Level Media
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