Braves: 3 free agents to make up for Freddie Freeman’s production

Anthony Rizzo is the logical choice to replace Freddie Freeman in free agency

Simply put, the easiest way to replace Freeman in free agency is to sign the southpaw first baseman who can strike out Frederick: Anthony Rizzo. As with Bryant, Rizzo was traded away from Chicago at the deadline. While there was thought he would be the lone player from the 2016 World Series core that would stick in the Windy City long-term, he went to the New York Yankees.

In the same vein as Bryant, Rizzo was viewed as a rental for a contending team hoping to get over the top in October. Fate would have it New York and San Francisco did not advance this past postseason. So while all of Braves Country will surely fall to pieces if Freeman does walk, Rizzo is one of maybe two first basemen outside of Atlanta their fans could get behind, along with Olson.

Rizzo offers similar power from the left side of the plate. While he does not hit for as high of an average as Freeman, he is slightly better defensively over him at the first base bag. More importantly, Rizzo is not going to garner as much money on the open market as Freeman will, as the Braves’ first baseman is the better overall player at this juncture of their baseball careers.

Replacing Freeman could be difficult, but Rizzo is arguably the free agent best equipped to do so.