Last spring the Dodgers signed one of the best hitters in the game to a six-year deal. Freddie Freeman has done everything a fan, or the team could ask for. He is hitting .320 plus as a Dodger, and while not hitting a ton of home runs, he is driving in runs, scoring runs, and leading by example.
Freeman is a pros pro. Freeman, whose birth name is Frederick Charles Freeman, was born in Fountain Valley, California. But both of his parents are Canadians. So, Freddie has dual citizenship, being Canadian and American. Growing up, he was an Angels fan. Kind of natural since he lived in Orange County.
As a youth, he usually played with players who were older than he was. For example, when he was 9 he was assigned to a 12-year-olds league. He played at El Modena High as a third baseman and a pitcher. He was 6-1 his senior year and hit .417. He was named 2007 Player of the Year by the Orange County Register.
He signed a letter of intent to Cal-State Fullerton to play baseball. The Braves though selected Freeman with the 78th pick in the 2007 draft. He signed for 409,500 dollars, forgoing his scholarship. He started his pro career with the Gulf Coast Braves.
He moved to the Class-A South Atlantic League for the 2008 season and played for the Rome Braves. He was named the Braves 5th best prospect before the 2009 season. He steadily moved up the ladder, but at the end of the 2009 season, he suffered a wrist injury. He went to the Arizona Fall League with the Peoria Saguaros and started the 2010 season at AAA Gwinnett.
He was part of the September call-ups in 2010 after a .319/18/87 line at Gwinnett. He hit his first MLB homer off of Roy Halladay on the 21st of September. Playing in 20 games for the Braves he hit .167/1/1. He was not on the playoff roster and went back to the AFL where he played in only 5 games.
Freeman won the first base job for the Braves out of spring training in 2011 and went on to have a very good rookie campaign where he hit .282/21/76 to finish second in the ROY voting to Craig Kimbrel. The next season his BA dropped to .259. But he hit 23 long balls and drove in 94. Since that year, Freeman has not hit below .288 but once. He has batted over .300 seven times with a top mark of .341 in 2020. That was his MVP season.
Freeman has been about as consistent a player as one could wish for averaging 180 hits, 27 homers, 98 RBI’s and a .299 average over a 162-game schedule. His OPS over 162 games averages .897 and his OPS+ 140. Pretty solid numbers. Add to that the fact that he was a very popular Brave and involved in the community in Atlanta, one has to wonder why the Braves were not aggressive in trying to keep him when he reached free agency after their World Championship run in 21.
Freeman has even been very consistent in post season play. You look at many star players and they have some real ups and downs in the post season. Freeman, in 11 post season series has a .296/10/23 line with a .947 OPS. Early in his career, it was not so. His first six series, he had only 78 at bats and his BA was barely above .200.
But since the Braves played the Dodgers in the NLCS in 2020, his BA is well over .300 and he has 8 homers and 20 driven in. So why did the Braves choose to move on? I am sure Freddie wondered too. The Braves had made a 5-year, 125 million dollars offer during the 21 season which Freddie declined. After he became a free agent, the Braves upped the offer to 140 million for 5 years.
Then things took a turn, Freeman’s representation wanted a sixth year. So, they presented the Braves with two offers and gave them an ultimatum to accept in one-hour. The Braves then pulled their longstanding offer off of the table and declined the two offers. They then traded with the Oakland A’s for Matt Olson and then gave him an 8-year extension.
With no chance of returning to Atlanta, other teams joined in the bidding, but on the 18th of March, Freeman chose to return to his home and signed a 6-year, 162-million-dollar contract with the Dodgers. Dodger fans were ecstatic. They were getting a solid hitter who added a power and high-average bat to a very good lineup.
Freddie had good, not spectacular numbers against LA, so if ya can’t beat em, join em. Freeman would hit third most of his first year in LA with Betts leading off and Trea Turner in the 2-hole. He would come close to winning the batting title, finishing second to Jeff McNeal of the Mets. He drove in 100 and scored 117, tied with Betts for the team lead as the team rolled to 111 wins and the Western Division title. He finished fourth in the MVP voting.
Freddie was one of the few Dodgers who had a good playoff series against the Padres. Most of the team seemed to be affected by the five-day layoff after the season ended. Freeman had 5 hits in 14 at bats and hit one homer.
Freeman has started his second season in blue pretty much the same way, hitting over .300 while delivering solid play at first and some occasional power. He just hit his 300th homer. And will soon be joined in the 300 club when teammate JD Martinez should connect with his 18th homer of the year. He is 9 away.
Freddie maintains his Atlanta residency and he and his family rent a home in Studio City. In such a short time in LA, he is one of the more popular players on the Dodgers, and Freeman bobblehead night is a favorite of the fans.
He is active with his own and teammates charity’s. He also is one of the more conversational players one might see, often engaging opposing runners in banter while they are on first base. Freeman is a class act. And the Dodgers are extremely lucky to have him.
… and he will probably finish his career in the ATL. The Dodgers have him for four more years… His contract is up at age 37 in 2027 and I think he will go home again. Enjoy his run…
Doubt that, his home is LA now. Let him win a ring or two here and retire a Dodger. Screw ATL
He has kept his home in Atlanta. He only rents in Los Angeles.
“Home” can mean a lot of different things.
Who cares if he’s only renting now…
Well he obviously is not too keen on uprooting his kids from their friends and school mates. They most likely join him while school is out and then return to Atlanta when school starts back up. If he is only renting, it shows no commitment to staying year round
Perhaps his glory days are still ahead and after all the Braves pretty much insulted him departing. I’m certain he has fan loyalty there, so maybe LA’s fans can tilt the scale to the blue for HOF.
Olson has an 8 year deal. Will have at least 4 years left on it when Freddies deal with the Dodgers is done. No way he goes back to the Braves.
DH
Possible, but not sure He would like to DH.
Outman and Vargas’ stats are about to converge.
Outman down to .830 OPS (still good) and Vargas is up to .764.
Vargas BA is .237 and Outman is .245.
Vargas OB% is .341. Outman is .333.
Of course, Outman has more HR, but they are no longer so far apart. However, remember, it is a long season, and the Dodgers are counting on both players. Outman is not being platooned – he just needed a rest, and it will be a two-day rest. Hopefully, he will come back re-energized!
I said before the season started that I thought Vargas would hit .270 to .300. I still stand by that. He is finally over his thumb injury, which happened after his finger injury.
If this were a horse race, I’d say your horse is about to pull even and probably will pull away from him real soon. Should win by 33 lengths…much like Secretariat’s Belmont race.
Sorry Eric, no disrespect to you or Mr Outman….
Vargas has 4 HRs, and Outman 9. No longer so far apart–but not so close either.
Projected over a full season, that’s about 13 HRs for Vargas and 28 for Outman, which would roughly reflect their minor league pace. The guy Miguel has called “Tarzan” also has more runs, RBIs and stolen bases.
It’s great that Vargas is picking up the pace and unfortunate that Outman is regressing. Both trends were expected, right?
Outman certainly needs to reduce his K numbers. But let’s remember how last season Taylor and Belli were also racking up Ks–but their OPS was down in the 600s.
Lately, the offense has been powered by Freddie, JDM and the Fresh Prince. Nice to see JDM prove he’s still got some premium in the tank, and Freddie being Prime MVP-calibre Freddie, and Will Smith being simply amazing. Smith’s OBP is .412, with 22 walks against only 12 Ks. And somewhat quietly, the alleged non-superstar called Mookie has raised his OBP to .364 and his OPS to .886
It seems that the Dodgers as a team are emphasizing plate discipline. Dodger hitters lead the majors with 220 bases on balls, and they are sixth in Ks with 457. (To be fair, this is not full apples-to-apples comparison. Dodgers have played 51 games. Some others have played 52, others as few as 48.)
Pretty funny that Vargas could inspire anyone to think of Secretariat. If he finishes with a .400 BA, wins the ROY and MVP, then OK…. Secretariat might be a good comp.
Pretty much knew when bickford took the mound in the ninth, game over but understand roberts didn’t have a lot to choose from with all the innings the bullpen has been asked to cover. Don’t blame bickford he is what he is , and is really liked by everyone in dugout. Dodgers will miss tampa s best pitcher this weekend so maybe we can take 2 of 3! Happy holiday weekend everyone!
Have a great weekend. Remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we can be free.
No game today, what to do? Oh well, I can do some more research I guess. I spent almost three hours on the phone yesterday with the VA. Most of it on hold trying to set up the consultation appointment for the surgery I need on my eye. I got through once, but they could not hear me, so I had to call back and was on hold for over a half-hour. When I did finally get to talk to someone, it took less than 2-minutes to set up the appointment. Go figure.
On Yard Barker, some writers claim that MLB execs think the Dodgers will make a blockbuster trade at the deadline and most believe it will be with the White Sox.
Ken Rosenthal was also chiming in about Hendricks and Anderson. Anderson is having a down year and a ball I saw him misplay with the infield in was out of little league.
I saw that too. Sox are a mess. Surprised ownership has not blown a gasket.
The Sox are playing much better and they have some pitching. Kopech was great yesterday, going a strong 7 on 92 pitches, 2 hitter with 9 K’s. They have a good staff. Joe Kelly has been good out of the pen.
They’ve won 8 of their last 11.
I am not a Tim Anderson fan so I hope we have no interest him. Very athletic. Makes web gems and boots routine stuff. Can be a .280 hitter. But I hate is body language and arrogant attitude. Seems like a selfish player to me.
He’s making 12.5 million and has an option for 2025 at 14 million. I think he will want 20 million. I wouldn’t be remotely interested in him, even packaged with Lynn or Giolito. Lynn is 36 and has an 18.5 million contract. Not interested. Giolito is 28 and more attractive at 10.5 million per. He is a FA after this year.
I’m not willing to pay the kind of money or give up the talent it would take to swing a deal with the Sox, who are getting better and may want a fortune..
As for last night, the old issue with leaving men on base. 10 total. Muncy had opportunities but didn’t come through. I sure he didn’t mean to be shitty.
Interesting 9th inning strategy wise. I thought Doc might choose to walk em loaded with Riley on 3rd with one out. Play for a double play, home to 1st. But that would have brought Ozuna to the plate and that has been a heated rivalry and he’s been fired up. It didn’t matter as Albies got the job done.
Good baseball by 2 very good teams.
Have a nice day off.
Ozuna is one of the biggest jerks in baseball. He should be fined for hitting catchers with his bat.
I share your doubts about Tim Anderson, but I don’t see any other obvious SS trade targets out there. T
We’ve discussed the SS dilemma at length.
Going with Mookie full-time is, I think, a legit option. Better than the 2023 edition of Anderson! But as freaky athletic as Mookie is, he won’t supply the defense that Rojas delivers. It would be exciting if Mookie gets the chance, and it would free the front office to shop for righthanded OF hitter.
The odds of this happening, I think, are slim. Riding with Rojas is fine if the Dodgers can upgrade elsewhere.
Thank goodness for the Dodgers’ pitching depth. I hope that Miller and Stone keep proving that they belong–and that Knack gets a chance soon. As for bats, well, the cupboards do not runneth over. Busch is first in line among the hitters, but it doesn’t seem that any others are really knocking on the door. Do any of the “sellers” have the bats that the Dodgers need?
It would be interesting if the Dodgers targeted a top SS prospect like the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz. The Reds have a surplus of infield talent. Not sure about their catching look? Would something like Cartaya plus Grove or ?? interest them. (I can also imagine Gavin Lux getting traded in the right deal. It would be kind of cold, but it’s business.)
I doubt that a deal for a top SS prospect will happen, but right now the Angels’ Zach Neto is making a big impression. He was drafted in 2022 and (I think) is the first from that draft to reach the majors. Maybe Neto will start slumping like Outman, but so far he’s been great with the glove and solid with the bat. My point is that it might be better to target a prospect rather than a proven but past-their-prime talent like Anderson.
For all the Ken Rosenthals out there claiming the Dodgers are pursuing so-and-so and in “serious negotiations,” what’s the actual percentage of them getting it right?
These people just say stuff. It means almost nothing.
Not really, but it keeps the fans talking. I will say one thing about Rosenthal, when you get on his actual twitter feed, he is usually pretty accurate. Jon Paul Morosi too.
Yeah, you gotta sort the wheat from the chaff.
Rosenthal’s good. Morosi. Passan.
I like those three because they usually differentiate when they are speculating and when they are reporting.
Nightengale? Not so much.
How often is Yard Barker right on this stuff?
Sometimes they get it right, but it is not their reporters who are writing the stories, it is guys like Rosenthal
No matter how the Dodgers plan to deal with Outman’s month-long collapse at the plate, ..Heyward’s recent offensive surge means there’s NO WAY he should be kept out of the regular line-up and risk disrupting the positive momentum he’s built with his bat!
Let me put this in perspective:
1. Jason Heyward plays the game the right way;
2. Jason Heyward is one of the best guys in MLB;
3. Jason Heyward is hitting .184 in his last 15 games (.230 in his last 30);
4. Jason Heyward does not have a hit off a LHP (only 5 ABs);
5. Jason Heyward has 5 HR/11 RBI and is hitting .228 for the year (.808 OPS);
6. James Outman is a Rookie who is learning to play the game;
7. James Outman is hitting .174 in his last 15 games (.218 in his last 30);
8. James Outman is hitting .308 against LHP;
9. James Outman has 9 HR/28 RBI and is hitting .245 for the year (.830 OPS);
Doesn’t Outman deserve to be in the lineup even more?
Outman has not hit RHP very well.
Thompson can’t hit LHP.
Why not reverse platoon them?
David Peralta has hit .244 in his last 15 games.
I still think, assuming Outman is an every day player, that Heyward and Peralta are redundant.
Both have been solid this year, both play good defense, both are known to be great teammates, etc. But I don’t think we need both.
We could argue that, with his reverse splits, Trayce, Heyward and Peralta are all redundant–veterans past their primes who should be platoon players, only not with each other.
Outman also bats lefty, but he’s the rising rookie with unfulfilled potential.
The logjam is arguably blocking Michael Busch (though Busch isn’t nearly as valuable on defense.)
These issues were obvious when AF signed Peralta. I think Peralta was a good value, but it would have many more sense to get a righty bat because Outman, Heyward, Trayce and Taylor could cover CF and LF–and because JDM monopolized the DH role.
Many beat writers suggest that, if not for Lux’s injury, Outman would have been assigned to OKC. His play forced the issue.
At any rate, the roster is poorly constructed–and it’s one reason why Dodgers are struggling against southpaws. I hope they make a smart trade to bring in a strong righty bat.
Your written perspective is yours, so here’s mine.
It’s hard to compare or contrast Heyward’s & Outman’s offense over the last 30 days (or even the entire season to date) since one has had many more full-time AB’s compared to the other’s only part-time AB’s.
But this is quite evident –
Outman–starting virtually every game so far–has completely fallen off a cliff at the plate and there’s no guarantee his production will ever improve much from the malaise he’s been in for OVER a month. And it’s logical to assume no matter how much he improves from now, we’ll still never see Outman produce anything near his “April Outman” days for at least the rest of this season. Put simply, the numbers he raked in April was a VERY unrealistic illusion, and 1/3 of the way through his rookie campaign, we still don’t really have any read on who he is offensively. ..except that he’s got good pop in his bat, speed running the bases, and a flair for the moment.
Likewise, because of his rebuilt swing, and so few plate appearances, it’s not really possible to get an accurate read on Heyward’s offensive potential either. But though his slash-line is poor, at least over the last few games getting full-time AB’s, Heyward has obviously been trending upward with his production.
So bottom line – both Heyward and Outman are still mostly unknown hitters, but Outman remains down while Heyward’s begun to heat up with more recent starts and more opportunities to rake. So it’s obvious he needs to continue starting every game to see where his recent batting surge will take him, ..while Outman desperately needs a “reset” as a platoon player (just as you suggested in your take) until he figures out how to hit ML pitching again. Just make him a 4th outfielder for now–as you surmised him to be before this season started.
One other difference –
Outman plays good defense in the outfield. Heyward plays EXCEPTIONAL defense in the outfield.
His better defense will garner more outs and save more runs.
Freddie Freeman a stud, a superstar, a joy to watch him every game demonstrate his baseball craft.
Maybe the best off-season triumph for AF.
Freeman has that blue collar quiet quality that you know what you’re gonna get from him every time with no worries.
At that salary, perhaps we call him white collar?
It works both ways!
Freeman has that white collar quiet quality that you know what you’re gonna get from him every time with no worries.
On second thought, the white collar folk have everything already. Let’s keep Freeman for the working class in our social constructs!
https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/036/647/Screen_Shot_2021-03-01_at_2.28.39_PM.png
Approbations applied to a blue collar work ethic bother you?
I don’t think it was an approbation. It was a joke, and a supportive one (in intent.) Apologies if it didn’t land.
That’s a really weird image. I don’t think I want to know how that ever came onto your radar.
The kids call them “memes.”
Kids!
All my memes are movie based and with barely any dialogue.
Freddie has been an all-star for a long time. An elite talent making elite bucks. He was a second round selection in 2007, and signed a $409,500 contract to skip college. (I assume that amount was “over-slot,” as they say, back in 2007.)
So blue-collar or blue-blood?
I’d say that Muncy, Taylor, Outman, Peralta and old friend Justin Turner are blue-collar guys. They all surpassed expectations. Freddie ha s fulfilled expectations.
Fortunately, they are all Dodger-blue players.
The crazy thing is that if you took the pitchers on the IL, you’d have a fucking amazing rotation and bullpen:
Grove, Pepiot, Beuhler, Urias and May.
In the Pen you’d have:
Cyr, Nelson, Hudson, Reyes, Treinen, and Feyereisen
This doesn’t even mention the banished guy currently toiling in the Japanese Minor Leagues.
Actually the Dodgers could’ve really used that banished guy right about now. Pity he tweeted some stuff some people didn’t like.
He’s been working his way back into shape. Hammering his fastball. Not ready for MlB.
OTOH: on top of the Dodger $$ he’s raking in subscribers for his YTube channel : 620k subscribers,
also: 420k on IG.
He may never leave Japan. He and his agent Rachel seem pretty content with media in Japan.
I dunno if 600k subscribers really translates to lots of $$$. Certainly not 23 mil/year.
If you think his tweets were the problem, you might also think that the Jan. 6 insurrection was just some tourists getting rowdy.
If Bauer had posted a pic of this yard sign on his Twitter instead of vague support for Evil Orange Man – and still engaged in the same behavior with that female, he’d be on the Dodgers roster instead of Syndergaard.
https://i.etsystatic.com/24775466/r/il/007919/3861802424/il_1588xN.3861802424_6ux9.jpg
Landon Knack pitched seven scoreless innings on Wednesday in Double-A, throwing a season-high 86 pitches in the longest outing by a Dodgers minor league pitcher this season.
He allowed only four singles and struck out six, delivering his fifth straight start allowing zero or one run. The Dodgers’ second-round draft pick in 2020 has a sparkling 1.32 ERA in 41 innings this year, with 45 strikeouts (a 29-percent K rate) against only seven walks.
Landon Knack is probably more ready than Miller or Stone!
I’m getting excited to see him wearing Blue.
He should be pushed to AAA immediately.
I’m a first time poster. Born and raised a Dodger fan. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into this website. One thing I miss is Mark’s rankings of Dodger prospects. I see others but they should be more fluid. Not complaining just hoping. Thank you
Welcome. The easiest way to check on prospect rankings for the Dodgers is use their website. The reassess periodically.
Check this out:
https://ladodgertalk.com/top-dodger-prospects/
Freddie time:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTREnWEoD/
DeLuca hit his first AAA homer tonight. Mann hit one and Yurchak had his first HR too. DeLuca is 2-4 so far and is hitting .243. DeLuca just tripled with the bases loaded for his third hit of the night. He has driven in 4 of the Dodgers 11 runs so far.
this is just amazing