Dodgers: Freddie Freeman Reveals the LA Player Who Heavily Recruited Him

Freddie Freeman made sure to call out a Dodgers veteran who kept his number on speed dial.

The Dodgers front office brain trust, led by team president Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes, deserve their roses for whisking Freddie Freeman away from the Braves. 

Freeman's free agency was a wild ride. Staying in Atlanta appeared to be his number one choice, but the two sides were unable to come to terms. The Braves pivoted to a blockbuster deal with the Athletic's to grab star first baseman Matt Olson. Then, an avalanche of rumors and news came roaring across the airwaves. In addition to LA, Boston, Tampa, San Diego, and New York were all linked to Freeman.

In the end, the 2020 NL MVP choose the Dodgers. In his introductory press conference last week, Freeman went out of his way to highlight how much Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner reached out to him to convince him to sign in LA.

" [I have to] give an assist to Justin Turner. His name popped up on my phone quite a bit during this whole process." 

The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya captured Turner's response later that day:

“I’ve been recruiting him to be a Dodger for like five years.” 

Friedman also referenced Turner repeatedly telling Freddie that he was more than welcome to sign with LA.

“Every time Justin got to first base, he would tell Freddie how good he’d look in Dodger blue.”

Switching from Dodgers villain to Dodgers hero isn't lost on Freeman. The new LA first baseman had the jokes captured by Jomboy Media when he was signing autographs for fans at Camelback Ranch.

“It’s nice to hear Dodgers fans cheer for me for once.” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/7ptphIn1LT

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 21, 2022

Freeman can thank Justin Turner for that extra push that got the Orange County native back to southern California.