New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays among teams interested in Freddie Freeman

It seemed all but inevitable that Freddie Freeman would return to Atlanta, but it may not be the case now. On the heels of the Atlanta Braves winning their first World Series Championship since 1995, they and their former MVP first baseman are seemingly at a crossroads as they still have not come together for a deal. Now, Freeman is drawing interest from other teams like the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman on Twitter.

The Braves and Freeman, as Call To The Pen’s David Hill noted nearly three weeks ago, are far apart in negotiations so it’s not surprising to see that other teams, like the Yankees and Blue Jays are interested in Freeman.

The New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays are among teams interested in Freddie Freeman

If the Atlanta Braves don’t re-sign Freddie Freeman, there will be a slew of teams that would be salivating at possibly getting him on their team, including the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.

Currently, the Yankees have Luke Voit at the top of the depth chart at first base, but his future there and with the Yankees in general in uncertain. In 2020, Voit led the American League with 22 homers and he came in ninth in MVP voting. In 2021, however, he dealt with injuries for the majority of the season as he only played in 68 games. He playing in 12 more games in 2021, but his home run numbers dropped in half and he saw his slugging percentage drop more than 170 points. Despite that, his OPS+ was still 109.

Freeman, 32, would still be a big upgrade as he is a better defender than Voit and, since 2016, Freeman has three seasons with an OPS+ of 150 or better. He also won the 2020 NL MVP and has received MVP votes in six other seasons as well.

For the Blue Jays, he would be a very intriguing fit there. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. is their primary first baseman and he would have been the AL MVP in 2021 if not for Shohei Ohtani. Guerrero has played third base before so he could slide over there, since Santiago Espinal is over there. Espinal isn’t Freeman or Guerrero, but he did have a good season for the Blue Jays in 2021 as he hit .311 with an on-base percentage of .376 in 92 games.

But the Blue Jays could use Guerrero as a DH. Realistically, they do have a DH right now as they have four outfielders (Teoscar Hernández, George Springer, Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., and Randal Grichuk) but Grichuk would be the clear candidate to be on the bench or chopping block due to his inconsistent bat.

Freeman is a dual U.S. and Canadian citizen as his parents are from Canada so the Blue Jays could be a fit for that reason too.

Both the Yankees and Blue Jays are intriguing fits, but the Braves still look to be the odds on favorite. But the chance of Freddie Freeman returning to Atlanta are seemingly dwindling by the day.