Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman on Tuesday fired the agents who handled his free agency negotiations, and now we may have an idea as to why he did so.
Freeman signed with the Dodgers after failing to come to an agreement with the Atlanta Braves, his former team. Over the weekend, Freeman and the Dodgers went to Atlanta for the first time this season, and the five-time All-Star was clearly emotional about his return.
On Wednesday, FOX Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb tweeted that Freeman parted ways with his now former agency, Excel Sports Management, because one of his agents, Casey Close, never told Freeman about Atlanta’s final free-agent offer. Gottlieb also said that Close knew that Freeman would have accepted the offer.
“Casey Close never told Freddie Freeman about the Braves final offer, that is why Freeman fired him,” Gottlieb wrote. “He found out in Atlanta this weekend. It isn’t that rare to have happen in MLB, but it happened – Close knew Freddie would have taken the ATL deal.”
If this report is accurate, it could explain Freeman’s emotions throughout the weekend that seemed to indicate some remorse about leaving the team with whom he spent the first 12 years of his career. After Freeman’s representatives gave Atlanta what the first baseman felt was an ultimatum, the Braves responded by trading for Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson and signing Olson to an eight-year extension. That officially shut the door on Freeman’s return. The 32-year-old wound up signing a six-year deal with the Dodgers.
In 1,565 games with the Braves, Freeman had 1,704 hits, 271 home runs and won an MVP award. Entering Wednesday, Freeman was hitting .306 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs in his first 288 at-bats with the Dodgers.
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