Freddie Freeman rumors: Red Sox reportedly ready to make a move
By Josh Hill
Another team has entered the Freddie Freeman rumors bonanza as the Boston Red Sox have thrown their hat in the ring.
One of the biggest names of the MLB Lockout was someone who largely stayed away from the daily CBA drama. Freddie Freeman’s name came up regularly, although it was attached to rumors about what uniform he’d be wearing once the lockout mercifully ended.
Since last Thursday, when owners and players officially agreed to get back to work after a 99-day lockout, rumors about Freeman’s future have only intensified. Monday saw perhaps the biggest swing in momentum as the Atlanta Braves — the team Freeman has played his entire career with and won a World Series for last season — traded for Oakland A’s All-Star first baseman Matt Olson. The move almost certainly ends Freeman’s tenure and gives even more credence to the rumors that have been swirling about coast-to-coast interest in his talents.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Boston Red Sox have now entered to Freddie Freeman sweepstakes.
“Red Sox have joined the Freddie Freeman sweepstakes as things get more interesting,” Heyman reported on Tuesday morning. “Teams known to be in now: the Dodgers, plus four from AL East: Yankees, Rays and Jays, too.”
Freddie Freeman Rumors: Boston Red Sox can cut in front of AL East rivals
There are a handful of reasons why it’s amazing that the Red Sox have now entered the fray, but let’s focus on two specifically. The first, and most obvious, is that Boston would be adding a superstar first baseman who is just a season removed from being the NL MVP and who less than five months ago helped bring a World Series back to Atlanta.
Adding Freeman not only brings veteran experience and presence to the Red Sox clubhouse but gives the team one of the best corner infielders in baseball. He’s only 32-years-old, and while Boston won’t be building around him for the next decade he seems like the perfect veteran free agent who can come in and both improve a team’s culture and be a key piece to a potential pennant winner.
Plus, we’ve already all fallen in love with his adorable son Charlie, so just imagine the family content beyond the diamond we’d be getting set against the backdrop of historic Fenway.
There’s also this: signing Freeman would also mean the New York Yankees miss out on the opportunity to do so. Boston is in a position to not only add an incredible piece to its lineup — whether that be Freeman playing first or DH’ing — and stick it to their division rivals.
It’s worth noting that the Yankees aren’t the only AL East team Boston should be concerned about adding Freeman. The Blue Jays appear to be loading up for a huge run in 2022, and adding Freeman to an already insanely talented roster — perhaps the one with the most upside in the entire division — is not something that will help anyone in Boston sleep at night.
The Freddie Freeman sweepstakes have been a far more wild ride than anyone initially thought, but it seems like the music is going to stop at some point soon and the number of teams scrambling for the chair is getting longer and more interesting by the day.