First baseman Freddie Freeman is among 160 players who became a free agent, along with World Series MVP Jorge Soler and NL Championship Series MVP Eddie Rosario.
ATLANTA — A celebration 26 years in the making was still going strong when a jarring dose of reality hit the Braves. Has Freddie Freeman, the face of the franchise for the past decade, played his last game in an Atlanta uniform? “Did I think I’d be sitting here with no contract? No, I didn’t,” Freeman said after stopping by the FOX set during the postgame celebration in Houston, not long after catching a throw to first for the final out. “This is a crazy game, a crazy business. But everyone knows where my heart is. And that’s the Atlanta Braves.” Freeman’s future is the most pressing offseason issue facing the Braves, who capped an improbable run to their first World Series title since 1995 with a 7-0 rout of the Houston Astros in Game 6 on Tuesday night. It’s hard to envision the Braves defending the title they worked so hard to achieve without No.5 at first base. The Braves had hoped to lock up the 32-year-old Freeman to a long-term deal before they got to the end of the season, but the two sides have yet to agree on terms. Freeman was among 160 players who became a free agent Wednesday, along with World Series MVP Jorge Soler and NL Championship Series MVP Eddie Rosario. “I’ve been here since I was 17 years old. Almost half my life, I’ve been in this organization,” Freeman said. “It means everything to put on that Braves uniform every day.
