Freddie Freeman reportedly fires agents days after Atlanta return

Tue, Jun 28, 2022
MLB News (AP)

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman made a highly emotional return to Atlanta last weekend, crying before Friday night's game, and again while being honored on the field and receiving his World Series ring. Days later, he's reportedly parted ways with the agents who negotiated his exit from Atlanta.

On Tuesday, multiple outlets reported that Freeman fired his agents with Excel Sports Agency.

As for now, Freeman's representation status is "self-represented" as the MLB Players Association emailed other MLB agents, ordering them not to contact him, which is typical when players aren't looking to be besieged.

Freeman reportedly told some of his former teammates over the weekend that he planned to change agents due to frustration with how his free agency was handled with the Atlanta Braves. The slugger, who won the 2021 World Series MVP in his 12th season with Atlanta, signed a six-year, $162 million deal to join the Dodgers during the offseason.

The slugger's emotional return to Atlanta left at least one of his current teammates wondering if Freeman has come to grips with his move to Los Angeles.

"It was very cool (to see Freeman's reception)," Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. "He's obviously been a big contributor for our team. And I hope we're not second fiddle. It's a pretty special team over here, too."

To recap the offseason back-and-forth: the Braves offered Freeman a five-year, $135 million. Following that, the lead negotiator for Excel contacted Alex Anthopoulos, the head of baseball operations for Atlanta, and presented two different proposals on Freeman's behalf, asking for significantly more money and giving the Braves one hour to respond. '

After that deadline, Anthopoulos believed that the one-hour deadline meant that Freeman was nearing a deal with another team, which resulted in Atlanta trading for Oakland Athletics All-Star Matt Olson. They then signed Olson to an eight-year, $168 million contract, effectively ending any chance of Freeman returning.'

Those close to Freeman within the Braves organization believe that his weekend of emotions had something to do with lingering anger and sadness resulting from leaving the team that drafted him. He was considered the face of the franchise for quite some time, won an MVP award in 2020 and just won the World Series less than a year ago.

The Dodgers (45-26) and Braves (42-32) met in the past two National League Championship Series, with Los Angeles winning en route to the 2020 World Series crown, while Atlanta won in 2021 on its way to the championship.

Kershaw downplayed any talk of a rivalry, however.

"The rivalry thing doesn't matter," the Dodgers pitcher said. "Everyone thought the (San Francisco) Giants were our rivals, the (San Diego) Padres were our rivals. At the end of the day, just win the division. That's all we care about. So we'll beat whoever we have to."