Report: ‘Growing Belief’ Freddie Freeman Signs With New Team After Lockout

The five-time All-Star and 2020 NL MVP is reportedly looking elsewhere after spending the first 12 years of his career in Atlanta.

If and when MLB and the MLBPA reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, plans to ramp up toward the 2022 season will be set in motion. But there's also an offseason component still hanging in the air: free agency.

The current lockout put all major league transactions on hold, leaving plenty of big-name free agents still available on the open market. Perhaps no player will be more sought-after than Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, and though it has long been assumed the 2020 National League MVP would remain in Atlanta, there are reportedly growing rumblings that that will not be the case once free agent signings resume.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the expectation around the league is that Freeman will sign elsewhere after he and the Braves were unable to come to an agreement before the lockout began. The Braves reportedly offered Freeman a five-year, $135 million deal, and the first baseman is keen on getting a sixth year.

Olney speculated that while the entire league would be interested in landing Freeman, the Dodgers could be a potential fit, even on a shorter-term deal. The Braves, meanwhile, could look to Anthony Rizzo as a replacement, or attempt to land Matt Olson in a trade with the A's.

Freeman has spent his entire 12-year career with the Braves after being selected by Atlanta in the second round of the 2007 draft. He's made five All-Star teams in his career, and batted .300/.393/.503 with 31 home runs and 83 RBIs in 2021.