Should the Braves be kicking themselves for letting Freddie Freeman leave after a good month?
The Los Angeles Dodgers got exactly what they wanted when they signed first baseman Freddie Freeman to a six-year, $162 million contract this winter.
Entering Tuesday, Freeman was hitting.304/.395/.484 with a wRC+ of 148, which was 48% higher than the league average.has only four home runs but 19 doubles and 29 RBI in 48 games.
From 2016 to 2021, Freeman hit.305/.399/.547 for the Atlanta Braves. Thus, his power has decreased slightly, but his average and on-base percentage have remained virtually the same.
That kind of offensive productivity is something the reigning World Series champion Braves absolutely need right now.
The Braves are only 23-26 and struggling offensively while being in second place in the NL East. They are batting.232 as a team and have an on-base percentage of.302, both of which are in the bottom half of the National League.
Freeman’s replacement, Matt Olson, has been one of the Braves’ finest bats thus far batting.
249/.363/.448. Freeman, on the other hand, has had a better start to the season.
The Atlanta Braves should be kicking themselves for allowing Freddie Freeman to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Atlanta Braves have helped Ronald Acua Jr. recover from his knee injury by DHing him at times, but the Braves could have utilized Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman as DHs if they truly wanted to. It would have been costly, but they would have had a lot more offense than they now do.
Even with Acua Jr. hitting well and playing the outfield approximately half of the time, the Braves have the worst hitting outfield in MLB. Their outfield has a wRC+ of 73, which is the lowest in baseball, according to FanGraphs. Yes, even the outfielders for the Cincinnati Reds (29th) and Oakland Athletics (28th) have hit better than the Braves’ outfielders.
Instead, Freeman is having a historic month with the Dodgers in May, hitting.308/.405/.495.Freeman is the only Dodgers player to hit 15 doubles and drive in 20 runs in a month.
After a sluggish start last season, the Atlanta Braves demonstrated that they can have a strong second half, but not re-signing Freddie Freeman might mean the difference between the Braves defending their World Series championship in the playoffs or not.
