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Freddie Freeman

NL Health Notes: Freeman, Rodgers, Lindor

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Freddie Freeman left Saturday’s game with “an upper respiratory infection”, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Bowman also points out that Freeman tested negative for COVID-19 and that he may have caught an unspecified “bug” that his kids have at the moment. The Braves’ superstar first baseman is having yet another excellent season, with a wRC+ of 136. If he can maintain that level of production for the remainder of the campaign, it would mark an amazing ninth straight season with a wRC+ of 132 or higher. Freeman is out of the lineup today but hasn’t been placed on the IL, which suggests the Braves expect a short absence. In fact, Bowman says he could have played today, though the team will play it cautious and let him rest a bit longer. The club is in the midst of a three-team pennant race, sitting two games behind the Phillies and just half a game behind the Mets.

More notes from the National League…

  • Brendan Rodgers was removed from last night’s game after being hit on the hand but seems to have avoided significant injury. Rockies Manager Bud Black says that the x-rays came back negative, per Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. The infielder is finally getting a good run of playing time from the club and making good on his prospect pedigree. He’s been on Baseball America’s Top 100 every year since 2016. Through 227 plate appearances this season, he’s slashing .286/.348/.485, for a wRC+ of 110. The club has no need to rush him back, as they are well out of contention, 12 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.
  • Francisco Lindor’s return timeline is still murky, even to himself. “I don’t know when I’ll be back,” Lindor said, per Newsday’s Tim Healey. “I would love to sit here and say, I’ll be back at home. Or I would love to say, I’ll be playing rehab [games] next week. I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.” Before going on the IL with an oblique strain in mid-July, the star shortstop was mired in his worst season to date, slashing .228/.326/.376 for a wRC+ of 97, although that was mostly caused by an ice-cold start to the year. Since May 29th, his wRC+ has been an excellent 133. The Mets acquired Javier Baez at the deadline to try and cover for Lindor’s absence but have nonetheless slid out of the top spot in their division. They will surely be hoping for Lindor to recover as soon as possible, as the NL East pennant race seems destined to go down to the wire.

Braves Have No Plans To Trade Freddie Freeman

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Ronald Acuna Jr.’s season-ending ACL tear has cast a shadow over what was already a difficult season for the Braves.  Though Atlanta is still only four games behind the Mets for first place in the NL East and seven games out of an NL wild card slot, the Braves have only a 44-45 record.  Getting on track before the trade deadline won’t be easy, as the Braves have 16 games (against the Rays, Padres, Phillies, and Mets) in the 15 days between now and July 30.

A couple of tough weeks could ultimately make Atlanta more inclined to sell rather than buy at the trade deadline.  Even if the team does decide to sell, however, “Freddie Freeman isn’t going anywhere,” MLB Network’s Jon Heyman writes.  On paper, Freeman is a potentially tantalizing trade chip considering both his ability and the fact that 2021 is the last year of his contract, but Heyman reports that both sides want to keep their relationship going without any interruption.

Freeman, of course, has control over his future in the form of 10-and-5 rights — the full no-trade protection granted to players who have 10 years of MLB service time and at least five years with one team.  If Freeman isn’t open to a trade, there isn’t anything the Braves can do, though it doesn’t appear as though the club has any interest in moving him anyway.

It had long been assumed that the two parties would work out a contract extension to keep Freeman in Atlanta well beyond the 2021 season, though whatever extension talks took place prior to Opening Day didn’t seem to result in much progress.  That created some speculation about whether or not Freeman would remain with the Braves, or if the team had concerns about committing a hefty long-term salary to a first base-only player who turns 32 in September.

Just a season removed from NL MVP honors, it certainly doesn’t appear as if Freeman is slowing down.  After a bit of an average start (by his standards) to the 2021 campaign, Freeman is now hitting .274/.381/.489 with 19 homers over a league-best 388 plate appearances.  Freeman’s .410 xwOBA is well above his actual .371 wOBA, so if anything, he projects to deliver even more offensive production in the second half.

A scenario exists where the Braves could trade Freeman to a contender at the deadline, with a quiet handshake agreement in place for Freeman to re-sign with Atlanta as a free agent this winter.  Those types of situations are pretty rare, however, and it would be a risk for the Braves on a couple of levels.  For one, Freeman has never played anywhere outside of the Braves organization, and experiencing what another team has to offer could make him more open to signing elsewhere.  Secondly, keeping Freeman would allow the Braves to issue him a qualifying offer after the season, so Atlanta could recoup a compensatory draft pick if he did sign with another team.

MLB Announces All-Star Starters

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Major League Baseball announced the starting lineups for the 2021 All-Star Game this evening. The starting lineups are determined by fan vote. This year’s All-Star Game will take place in Coors Field on Tuesday, July 13. The starting pitchers and reserves will be announced at a later date.

National League

American League

*On the 60-day injured list

Braves Notes: Pache, Freeman, Greene

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The Braves announced Wednesday that outfielder Cristian Pache has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. It’s the second time this year the top prospect has been sent to Gwinnett for further refinement, which isn’t a surprise given that the 22-year-old has batted just .111/.152/.206 in 68 plate appearances. Pache is considered an all-world defender with substantial upside at the plate, but his offensive game is nowhere near as polished as his defense at this point. With Pache down and Marcell Ozuna both injured and facing assault allegations, the Braves’ outfield mix is comprised by Ronald Acuna Jr., Ender Inciarte, Guillermo Heredia, Abraham Almonte and Ehire Adrianza. Top prospect Drew Waters is hitting reasonably well in Triple-A but is striking out at a rather unpalatable 28 percent clip there.

Some more news and notes out of Atlanta…

  • Braves icon (and current assistant hitting coach) Chipper Jones weighed in on Freddie Freeman’s contractual situation in a chat with The Athletic’s Jeff Schultz. Jones stresses that he’s only offering his own opinion but wonders whether the Liberty Media-owned Braves are waiting to see what 2021 attendance numbers look like before making a market-value offer to Freeman. The Hall of Famer also calls Liberty Media an “absentee owner” that is “rooted in trying to make money off the franchise” more so than conventional ownership structures. Atlanta fans will want to check out the column for Jones’ full, lengthy quotes on the matter. Freeman, 31, didn’t start the 2021 season particularly well, but he’s hitting a much more characteristic .284/.411/.527 over his past 20 games (90 plate appearances). He’s scheduled to become a free agent for the first time this winter after the $135MM contract extension he signed eight years ago draws to a close.
  • Right-hander Shane Greene’s most recent schedule appearance in Gwinnett was pushed a couple of days due to soreness in his back, manager Brian Snitker told reporters Monday (link via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman). The veteran reliever was able to take the mound yesterday for his third appearance since re-signing with Atlanta, however. Thus far, Greene has rattled off 3 1/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts and one walk allowed. Snitker noted Monday that there’s still no timetable for when Greene is expected to join the Major League bullpen. After sitting out until early May, Greene is effectively going through a makeshift Spring Training in Gwinnett right now.

No Extension Negotiations Between Braves, Freddie Freeman

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First baseman Freddie Freeman has become an institution in Atlanta since his career began in 2010, but there is a chance this will be his final season with the Braves. The reigning National League Most Valuable Player is not signed beyond this season, and if he does reach the open market over the winter, he’ll be one of the game’s highest-profile free agents. As of now, Freeman and the Braves are not progressing toward a long-term contract.

Asked about extension talks with the Braves, Freeman said Tuesday (via Jeff Schultz of The Athletic), “There is no negotiations.” Freeman added that discussing a deal during the season “would be a distraction and I don’t like distractions. My main focus is the game tonight and I don’t think there’s going to be much talking any time soon.”

Freeman has already received one lucrative payday from the Braves – an eight-year, $135MM extension in February 2014. As a soon-to-be 32-year-old, Freeman won’t sign a deal that long again, but a five- to six-year contract worth $25MM or more per season doesn’t seem outlandish. One comparable could be the Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt, who inked a five-year, $130MM guarantee with the Cardinals in 2019 at the age of 31. However, that was an extension hammered out several months before Goldschmidt could have gone to free agency, meaning the Cardinals weren’t competing against anyone for his services. The Braves may not have the luxury of avoiding a multi-team bidding war for Freeman if they’re unable to lock him up before the offseason opens.

Whether with Atlanta or another club, Freeman has done enough to earn a second nine-figure deal. The four-time All-Star has batted .294/.383/.510 (139 wRC+) with 245 home runs in 6,036 plate appearances, and he has missed only four games dating back to the beginning of the 2018 season. Freeman’s currently on pace for another tremendous year, having hit .233/.387/.517 (140 wRC+) with five HRs and a 14:6 BB:K ratio in 75 plate appearances. While Freeman’s batting average is uncharacteristically low, Statcast data suggests his .188 BABIP will eventually soar closer to his lifetime mark of .339.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Infield, Rays, Ozuna, Braves, Freeman

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Isiah Kiner-Falefa was so impressive in his Gold Glove winning season at the hot corner that the Rangers plan on bumping him further up the defensive hierarchy in 2021. He’ll be their starting shortstop, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, which means an open competition to fill his spot at third. Oddly enough, Elvis Andrus seemed to have the inside track on the job before being traded to the Texas Rangers today. Instead, his long-time double play partner Rougned Odor may be an option, or they could see a replacement from outside the organization. The Rangers prefer that youngsters like Josh Jung and Sherten Apostel spend more time in the minors, Landry notes.

  • Marcell Ozuna and Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos were all laughs today as they spoke to reporters, including the Athletic’s David O’Brien, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, and Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Though the two sides certainly took their time to come together on a new contract, the deal itself was actually finished over the course of a single day. The Rays had made an offer to Ozuna, but after one season in Atlanta – a year Ozuna described as the best year of his career – the slugging outfielder told his representation at CAA Sports that he wanted to hear from the Braves. The takeaway here is that clarity, communication, and a little pressure exerted from the outside go a long way to helping two sides come together.
  • The jolly atmosphere included a playful reference to the future negotiation of Freddie Freeman’s extension, tweets Janes. Anthopoulos certainly didn’t seem all that worried about potentially losing their franchise first baseman, who is a free agent after the 2021 season. For his part, Freeman doesn’t seem particularly likely to test his options elsewhere. The 31-year-old was handed the keys to the franchise from the legendary Chipper Jones, and there’s little reason to doubt his plans to stay behind the wheel in Atlanta. Coming off an MVP season and three consecutive NL East division titles, the partnership clearly works. As with Ozuna, the Braves and Freeman could be as much as a conversation away from keeping the California native on the East Coast, a sentiment the Athletic’s David O’Brien has shared for some time.

Freddie Freeman Named National League MVP

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The Baseball Writers’ Association of America has awarded the 2020 National League Most Valuable Player to Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. He beat out fellow finalists Mookie Betts and Manny Machado for the award.

The summer began in brutal fashion for Freeman, who tested positive for COVID-19 in early July. Freeman was in such bad condition that teammate Nick Markakis decided to opt out of the season. However, Markakis quickly elected to return, and Freeman was able to regain his health by the start of the regular season.

From a production standpoint, 2020 couldn’t have gone much better for the 31-year-old Freeman, who has consistently been a fantastic player since his first full season in 2011. Freeman earned MVP honors thanks largely to a career-best .341/.462/.640 line and 13 home runs in 262 trips to the plate, helping the Braves to their third straight NL East title (though they bowed out to the Dodgers in the NLCS). He wound up first in the NL in fWAR (3.4), and second in batting average, wRC+ (187) and bWAR (2.9).

It was a landslide victory for Freeman, who collected 28 of 30 first-place votes in this year’s balloting. Betts received the other two, but he’s at least temporarily denied of becoming the first player to win the MVP in two leagues since Frank Robinson. The rest of the top five consisted of the left side of the Padres’ infield (Machado and shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr.) and Nationals outfielder Juan Soto.

MLBPA Announces 2020 Players Choice Award Winners

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The MLBPA announced their Players Choice Awards today, which were voted on by the players prior to the postseason. Freddie Freeman was the biggest winner, taking home both the NL Player of the Year honor, as well as the NL Outstanding Player Award, which correlates to the MVP. Jose Abreu of the White Sox took home the AL MVP equivalent award. Nelson Cruz was awarded the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award in the American League, while Andrew Dawson won the inaugural Curt Flood Award, given to “a former player, living or deceased, who in the image of Flood demonstrated a selfless, longtime devotion to the Players Association and advancement of Players’ rights.”

Feel free to read their official press release here, and check out the other award winners as voted on by the players below:

AL Outstanding Pitcher: Shane Bieber

NL Outstanding Pitcher: Trevor Bauer

The Outstanding Pitcher award in each league – or the Cy Young equivalent – went to Trevor Bauer of the Reds and Shane Bieber of the Indians. Bieber was a shoo-in as the best pitcher in the American League, but Bauer faced some tough competition in the NL from Jacob deGrom and Yu Darvish.

AL Outstanding Rookie: Kyle Lewis

NL Outstanding Rookie: Jake Cronenworth

Lewis broke out as a star for the Mariners, an important development for him, of course, but also for the Mariners and their rebuild. Lewis hit .262/.364/.437 with 11 home runs and highlight-reel defensive work in centerfield. The 26-year-old Cronenworth came to San Diego as an unheralded pickup from the Rays, but the two-way player focused on his offense in 2020, got regular reps at second base, and emerged as a star. Cronenworth hit .285/.354/.477 in 192 plate appearances while completing the Padres infield picture.

AL Comeback Player: Carlos Carrasco

NL Comeback Player: Daniel Bard

These are both tremendous stories. Carrasco was treated for leukemia last season before returning at the end of the year. This season he returned to his prior form, going 3-4 with a 2.91 ERA/3.59 FIP across 68 innings. Bard, meanwhile, hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2013, retiring in 2017. He discovered renewed velocity while coaching, then came back to become the Rockies’ closer by the end of 2020. He made 23 appearances with a 3.65 ERA/3.64 FIP with 6 saves. Many have tried and failed to provide steady relief in Colorado, so for Bard to come back where he did is particularly impressive.

The traditional awards that we tend to reference throughout the years are released by the Baseball Writer’s Association of America. They announced their reveal dates today as well: November 11th for the Cy Young and November 12th for MVP.

Freddie Freeman On Potential Extension

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Longtime Braves star Freddie Freeman may win the NL MVP this year, but the first baseman isn’t signed beyond next season. As a result, the World Series-contending Braves will soon have to decide how far they’ll go to keep him in the fold. There’s mutual interest in a new deal, though, Freeman revealed Monday (via David O’Brien of The Athletic).

Freeman, whose eight-year, $135MM extension is nearing an end, said that he’d “love to stay” in Atlanta, and he believes general manager Alex Anthopoulos is aware of that. “We’ll see how it goes. But this team is built to win for a long time and I know that. It’s going to be a good ride. Hopefully I can be a part of it,” Freeman added.

A 2007 second-round pick, Freeman has turned into one of the most accomplished players in Braves history. The 31-year-old is a four-time All-Star who has slashed .295/.383/.509 with 240 home runs and 38 fWAR over 5,965 plate appearances. He turned in a career-best .341/.462/.640 line with 13 HRs and an NL-leading 3.4 fWAR across 262 PA in 2020 en route to what could be an MVP-winning season.

Regardless of whether Freeman takes home hardware in the coming months, he looks as if he’s in line for a second contract worth at least $100MM. Speculatively, Freeman could push for a similar pact to the five-year, $130MM extension Paul Goldschmidt signed with the Cardinals before 2019.

COVID News & Notes: Freeman, Paredes, Cardinals

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COVID-19 has taken its toll on the baseball world, with Freddie Freeman being one of the most prominent names to test positive for the virus.  Now recovered and back at the Braves’ camp, Freeman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Gabriel Burns and other reporters about his experience, which included a week of symptoms that even left Freeman fearful for his life on the evening of July 3 when he ran a fever of 104.5 degrees.  “I said a little prayer that night.  I’ve never been that hot before.  My body was really, really hot,” Freeman explained.  “So I said, ’Please don’t take me.’  I wasn’t ready.  It got a little worrisome that night for me.”

Fortunately, Freeman’s decreased to 101 degrees the following morning, and three days of fever gave way to four days where “it almost felt like I had a sinus problem.  I’d stand up, get dizzy and I’d have to sit back down.”  After that, however, Freeman went nine days without any other symptoms.  After getting word yesterday that he had tested negative on two consecutive coronavirus tests, Freeman received full clearance at a local hospital and was at training camp that same afternoon.  While “we’re going to take it day by day” in terms of getting into game shape, Freeman will try to pack as much work as possible over what remains of training camp: “That’s the whole goal, for me to be ready Opening Day.”

Some more on other pending and cleared COVID-19 cases from around baseball…

  • A positive coronavirus test delayed Isaac Paredes’ arrival at the Tigers’ camp until yesterday, but the prospect is now feeling healthy, he told MLB.com’s Jason Beck.  Paredes wasn’t asymptomatic, though he was feeling better even before traveling to the United States from his home in Mexico.  One of the top prospects in Detroit’s farm system, Paredes is only 21 years old and has yet to play any Triple-A ball, though he could have potentially been a candidate for the Tigers’ Opening Day roster had he been healthy.  Instead, Paredes will be assigned to the taxi squad and is “ready and willing to do whatever the staff and the manager want me to do.  I’m ready to play whatever position they want me to.“
  • The Cardinals provided updates on some of their COVID-positive players (MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold were among those to report the news.)  Left-handers Genesis Cabrera and Ricardo Sanchez were both cleared to participate in training, and Cabrera was at Busch Stadium today to play catch while Sanchez will join the Cards’ taxi squad at their minor league training site.  Alex Reyes, meanwhile, confirmed that his delayed arrival to training camp was indeed due to the coronavirus, though Reyes was asymptomatic.  Once one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, Reyes has been limited to only seven MLB innings over the last three seasons due to various injuries, so the Cardinals weren’t likely to rush him to the Opening Day roster even had he been healthy.  It isn’t out of the question that Reyes will emerge at some point in the 2020 season as a hard-throwing relief option.
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