The Great Player of Year X | Articles | Bill James Online

I have concluded that it is no longer reasonable to say that Mike Trout is the best player in baseball.  That honor now rightfully belongs to Freddie Freeman.

This is merely an opinion, of course, and probably no better than your opinion.  I am not saying that YOU should not continue to regard Mike Trout as the best player on the block; I am just saying that I no longer regard that as a reasonable thing for ME to believe.  This is not an off-the-cuff or unstudied opinion; it is a conclusion arrived at by research and reflection.  Let’s see if I can take you along with me.

Doug Gottlieb Says Freddie Freeman, Casey Close Conduct He Alleged ‘Did Not Occur’

Close filed a lawsuit against Gottlieb in July alleging libel, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Freeman cut ties with Close and Excel Sports Management in June because he was “angry with how his free-agent negotiations played out,” per ESPN’s Buster Olney.

Gottlieb then tweeted that Close intentionally withheld information from his client: “Casey Close never told Freddie Freeman about the Braves final offer, that is why Freeman fired him. He found out in Atlanta this weekend. It isn’t that rare to have happen in MLB, but it happened - Close knew Freddie would have taken the ATL deal.”

Gottlieb said Wednesday this “did not occur” and that “the sources I relied on were incorrect,” and he has deleted the tweet.

Re: Casey Close/Freddie Freeman negotiations pic.twitter.com/dhFD8dj49H

— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) September 7, 2022

Freddie Freeman clearly wanted Braves return over Dodgers deal

Then, after the lockout ended, Excel called the Braves on March 12 to give them a couple counteroffers, and let them know they needed an immediate response and needed to present their max offer, with the implication being that they were ready to move. That night, sources say Excel presented two options as “Braves prices,” which presumably meant a discounted deal for his favored team: $165 million for five years or $175 million for six. They also upped the urgency by telling the Braves they had exactly an hour to respond.

The Braves got back and said no thank you to Excel’s figures, but since they had to try something for an iconic Brave following the World Series win and end of the lockout, sources say they verbally upped their offer to $140 million for five. It wasn’t a huge increase for an iconic player, but Freeman’s reps could have countered at that point, and it’s hard to imagine the Braves wouldn’t have gone to at least $145 million considering his value to the franchise. Instead, sources say the talks appeared to end amicably, with the sides starting to talk about other Excel free agents, and the Braves believing the Freeman camp had something for $175 million-plus and were about to take it.

Freddie Freeman changing agents over how Braves-Dodgers free agency played out, per report

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman will no longer be represented by Excel Sports Management, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney. Freeman, now listed internally as his own agent, has reportedly told friends that he’s angry with how his free agency played out last winter, when he left Atlanta for the West Coast after the Braves acquired Matt Olson in a trade with the Oakland Athletics.

He had previously spent his entire career with the Braves, with whom he won a World Series last fall.

Freeman’s annoyance with his now-former agency may stem from the seeming ultimatum that Excel presented to the Braves days before the Olson trade was completed. Here’s the backstory on that, courtesy of MLB.com’s Mark Bowman:

As the days, weeks and months of the offseason passed, Freeman just assumed he’d eventually end up with the Braves. He maintained this thought until the evening of March 12. This is the night when Close contacted Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, gave him two requests that far exceeded Freeman’s expectations and said the Braves had an hour to respond.

Freeman’s agents contend this wasn’t an ultimatum. But Freeman certainly felt like it was. When he received an update that evening, he walked back into his son’s birthday party and felt like he was in shock as he told his dad and wife that he didn’t think he was a Brave anymore.