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MLB insider believes Freddie Freeman will be first free agent to sign

By Noah Yingling |
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 31: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers chats with Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves on first base during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on August 31, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 31: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers chats with Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves on first base during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on August 31, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

MLB transactions can resume at 6:30 PM E.T. on Thursday night with the end of the MLB lockout so there will be a slew of signings and trades that will happen in the next few hours and days after that. One of the players that could be the first to sign is Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman.

Freeman is, perhaps, the best free agent remaining on the market after Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa. Freeman won the 2020 NL MVP and was on the World Championship squad in 2021.

Freddie Freeman could be the first MLB free agent to sign

According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com on MLB Network at around 4:40 PM E.T, he believes that Atlanta Braves’ first baseman Freddie Freeman will be the first free agent to sign.

The reason? It’s pretty simple, according to Morosi.

“His market is very clear,” said Morosi. “[He] goes back to Atlanta … or you go to the [New York] Yankees, or you go to the [Los Angeles] Dodgers.”

Morosi fed into the Dodgers potentially getting Freeman for a few reasons. First of all, the Braves haven’t re-signed him. It seemed to be a foregone conclusion in October but they didn’t get it done before the lockout.

Secondly, Freeman grew up in southern California. He went to high school in Orange, Calif., which is a suburb of Los Angeles. It’s about 40 miles away from Dodger Stadium.

Third, the NL now has the universal DH so the Dodgers could have another bat to put in their lineup. And, lastly, and on the point of the DH, their regular first baseman Max Muncy was injured in the final game of the regular season on a play at first base. The play tore his UCL. While Muncy says it is progressing well, the Dodgers could use at Freeman and DH Muncy to ease him back into the game

In addition to the Braves, Dodgers, and Yankees, Freeman could have a few potential suitors, like the Tampa Bay Rays, as David Hill of Call To The Pen wrote about earlier this week but those three are the most obvious landing spots.

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Freeman will likely get at least a six-year deal for around $30 million per season so, at that level, it’s easy to see why the Braves, Yankees, and Dodgers are the three frontrunners.

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