Could Atlanta Braves trade Freddie Freeman next?
The Atlanta Braves made the first big trade of the offseason on Thursday, pairing up with the Los Angeles Angels in a deal sending shortstop Andrelton Simmons out west for pitching prospects. It appears John Hart and company seem set on stockpiling young talent in hopes of putting together a new young core to bring in as the club breaks in its new ballpark in 2017.
Simmons is still just 27, and under team control for five more seasons. So if the two-time Gold Glove award winner is available, it raises the question of who else might be on the table in trade talks for Atlanta this winter.
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Arguably the biggest star remaining on the Braves roster is All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, who is locked into a long-term deal of his own. The 26-year-old is signed through 2021, with an annual salary that starts at $12.5-million in 2016 and tops out at $22-million in the final year.
Freeman is coming off a down year in which he missed 50 games and hit just .276 with 18 home runs and 66 RBIs. That being said, he’s a year removed from back-to-back All-Star campaigns, also picking up MVP votes in 2013 and 2014. And with the free agent first base market thin beyond Chris Davis, any number of teams could be interested in bringing in Freeman for some prospects.
Hart showed a willingness to move star power in order to ditch undesirable contracts, and could apply a similar tactic with Freeman to move one or both of Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher. Both are signed to one-year deals, with vesting options that each trigger if the respective player reaches 550 plate appearances in 2016 and passes a physical. While both deals are expiring after the season, the two outfielders are set to make a combined $29-million in 2016, and packaging one or both with Freeman could help Atlanta recoup some of that money to put towards future investments.
But regardless of whether Hart can find takers for Bourn and/or Swisher, the market for Freeman’s services would be more than healthy enough to bring Atlanta a sizable haul. Clubs like the Orioles, the Rockies, the Red Sox, the Mariners and the Pirates could all have varying levels of interest in Freeman, and several of them could be suitors to send young talent for other marketable players on the Atlanta roster as well.
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Freeman’s contract means that he won’t be willingly leaving the Braves any time soon. But Atlanta sent a message with the Simmons trade that no one is untouchable. And if that’s the case, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Freeman’s name mentioned in trade circles in the coming days and weeks.