Freddie Freeman’s agent all but ensured he would leave Braves

Freddie Freeman’s agent Casey Close played a huge role in his client signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers over his former team in the Atlanta Braves during MLB free agency.

While Freddie Freeman is now a big part of all things Los Angeles Dodgers, it may have been his agent Casey Close who played an integral part in his highly-controversial Atlanta Braves departure.

Prior to this season, Freeman had spent his entire professional career in the Braves organization. He was drafted out of high school by Atlanta and put together a hall-of-fame-worthy career in a Braves uniform. However, the MLB lockout and poor communication between Freeman and his agent led to him switching NL allegiances in his early 30s. They clearly oversold their hand here.

Here is an excerpt from David O’Brien of The Athletic’s post on what broke down between Freeman, the Braves and his representation.

"“Then the baseball owners’ lockout began a few weeks later, and Freeman was still a free agent when it ended. His agent, Casey Close, did little to boost the chances that the Braves would re-sign him, and Freeman didn’t say as much as he now wishes he would’ve to make sure Close understood how much he wanted to stay with the Braves.”"

Freddie Freeman’s agent played a huge part in his client switching NL teams

Look. It is best for all parties involved to move on. Freeman gets to play for World Series contender in his native Southern California. Atlanta orchestrated a blockbuster trade for Lilburn native and Parkview star Matt Olson in a deal with the Oakland Athletics to handle duties at first base. The Athletics landed a few top prospects from Atlanta for Olson, including outfielder Cristian Pache.

However, the thing that keeps getting brought up when it comes to Freeman is that his agent may not have acted in his best interest. Yes, if Freeman was adamant about staying in Atlanta, he should have made that abundantly clear to his agent. Regardless, the money was not that much more in Los Angeles than it was in Atlanta for Freeman’s services, now that the dust has settled.

Ultimately, Freeman is in a terrific spot to build on his legacy. A few more All-Star Games and another World Series appearance probably gets him into Cooperstown. As for Atlanta, the Braves still have a strong possibility to do something they have never done before in franchise history: Repeat as World Series champions. The only loser in all of this has to be Freeman’s representation.

Los Angeles and Atlanta have a shot to meet in the 2022 NLCS for the third postseason in a row.