After claiming their first World Series since 1995, the Atlanta Braves don’t intend to change the winning formula. This includes making sure their All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman remains with the franchise for 2022 and beyond.
Freeman, who spent his entire MLB career in Atlanta, has become a free agent after the franchise failed to lock him on a long-term extension. The Braves responded by making him a one-year qualifying offer worth $18.4 million but won’t stop there.
According to Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, the team wants to keep Freeman and has every intention to sign him to a deal.
“Look, he’s a free agent. By rule, obviously I can’t say a whole lot, other than what I’ve said in the past. We love him, he’s great, we want him to stay, he wants to stay,” Anthopoulos said on Sunday via ESPN. “Our goal is to sign him and keep him a Brave.”
Freeman is coming off a productive season that saw him posting a .300 batting average in the regular season while hitting 31 homers and having 83 RBIs. The 32-year-old followed this up with a great campaign in the playoffs, launching five home runs and batting .304 throughout the postseason.
His stellar performances in 2021 positions Freddie Freeman as one of the most coveted free agents during the offseason. But despite this, it appears that Freeman isn’t too keen on leaving the Braves.
“I think everyone knows how my heart is,” Freeman said last week when talking about his free agency. “It means everything to put on that Braves uniform every day. Hopefully I can continue to do that.”
