Freddie Freeman’s World Series success even more painful for Yankees with new free agency update

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman has single-handedly outperformed the entire New York Yankees team in the 2024 World Series.

Freeman helped the Dodgers secured a dramatic victory with a series-defining walk-off grand slam in Game 1, and he never took his foot off of New York’s neck. He followed up with another home run in Game 2. Then another in Game 3. And again in Game 4.

Freeman’s home run on Tuesday made him the first player in MLB history to hit a home run in six consecutive World Series games, dating back to his trip to the Fall Classic with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.

The Yankees were reportedly interested in acquiring Freeman when he left the Braves and became a free agent. Regrettably for New York, the interest fizzled out and the deal never happened. 

With Freeman on the verge of clinching the World Series for the Dodgers, new details have emerged about the deal that never was.

Freddie Freeman was never interested in joining the Yankees

Freeman was never interested in joining the Yankees, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on Tuesday. 

“He didn’t want to come here,” a Yankees official told Heyman. “He wanted to stay in Atlanta, and if he couldn’t stay in Atlanta, he wanted to go to LA.”

The Yankees were reportedly interested in offering Freeman a $180 million contract, but the interested didn’t seem to be mutual. Another source familiar with the situation told Heyman that the Braves and the Dodgers were the two preferred choices for Freeman.

Freeman declined to comment on his preference, but provided a little insight into his free agency conversation with the Yankees.

“I had a conversation with [Yankees general manager Brian Cashman],” Freeman said. “They never made an offer.”

Freeman ultimately signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Dodgers. Although the deals with New York or Atlanta may have been more lucrative, but it’s hard to imagine that Freeman regrets his decision to relocate to Los Angeles. 

Freeman was hitting .385 with a 1.891 OPS through his home run in Game 4 of the World Series. Barring a historic collapse, he is set to earn World Series MVP honors. It just won’t be for the team that the Yankees were hoping for.