Freddie Freeman is joining the National League West, as he reportedly agreed to a six-year, $162 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel were the first to report the sport-changing news.
Freeman, the 2020 NL Most Valuable Player, supplements a Dodgers lineup that already features Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner.
LA won 106 games last season — one shy of the Giants — but eliminated San Francisco in the NLDS in five. The Dodgers were already considered the preseason favorite to win the NL West in 2021 before the acquisition.
Freeman, Betts, Bellinger, and starter Clayton Kershaw are each Dodgers who have won MVP awards. Kris Bryant, who signed with Colorado earlier Wednesday, is likewise a former MVP. The division also features Fernando Tatís Jr., Manny Machado and Brandon Crawford, who have had top-five MVP seasons.
Freeman had spent each of his first 12 seasons with the Atlanta Braves. He led the franchise to its first World Series since 1995 last year.
But the Braves decided not to retain Freeman, deeming the franchise icon’s services too expensive. Instead, Atlanta traded prospects for former Athletics first baseman Matt Olson.
For the Dodgers, adding Freeman creates one of the most stacked lineups in recent history. With the universal designated hitter, LA can fit Freeman and Muncy together either by DH-ing one of them or shifting the latter over to second base.
Freeman earned his fifth All-Star appearance in 2021 by hitting .300 and 31 home runs. He’s one of the purest hitters in the game, particularly among lefties; he’s recorded at least an .890 OPS every season since 2016.
And now the Giants will see him 19 times this regular season.