Believe it or not, the problems with the Atlanta Braves stem all the way back to when the club decided not to pay Freddie Freeman. It wasn’t just losing a solid offensive player and reliable defensive player. It was about a massive shift in the locker room that the team is still reeling from.
The Athletic did a mailbox with fans and beat writer David O’Brien mentioned that the Braves’ struggles stem past production on the field, but the club opting to part ways with some of the biggest clubhouse leaders is why the Braves’ identity feels off. Why when they let Freeman go, it hurt the team more than they could have ever imagined.
The Braves have avoided long term contracts with players and it’s costing them the most important people in the clubhouse. They’re going to have to change their mindset and their approach if they want to get back to their winning ways.
Atlanta Braves had no idea the damage of losing Freddie Freeman would do
In hindsight, the Braves probably wish they would have brought Freeman back. This team parted ways with every player that was an asset to the clubhouse. While they didn’t need to bring all of them back, not bringing back Freeman was probably the biggest mistake. What he meant to the team and to the city of Atlanta, they could have found a middle ground.
In case you didn’t know how important Freeman was to Atlanta, the team had a tribute video for him during MLB All-Star Week. You only do that when you realize just how important a player is to your organization. And the fact that the Braves continue to celebrate Freeman, though he’s been away from Atlanta since 2021.
It probably didn’t help that he went to Los Angeles and seemingly didn’t skip a bit. What Freeman means to Atlanta can’t be quantified. You know that because the team hasn’t gotten better since he left.
The Braves have a bad habit of letting the good people go and it’s left them wondering where things have gone wrong. It started with Freeman and the Braves haven’t been able to recover since. Let this be a lesson to the front office, when you have the right personalities in the clubhouse, that’s worth more than what they may contribute on the field. Even if it doesn’t feel like it.