It is rare for playerto change agents immediately after signing a monster contractbut Freddie Freeman takes it seriously. And in fact, asBuster Olney first reported,
Freemanapparently meant almost going home to the Dodgers, even though. I wasn't happy to leave the Braves(he's from OC), and he's originally very budget-conscious despite being a huge money-maker (1 in 2021). He blamed the Braves management (reportedly making $ 100 million in profits). However, he has now gathered information about what happened, so he is now at least partially blaming Excel, his longtime representative. Another question is, obviously, Freeman wanted to stay badly today, but he should wonder if his agent received and understood the message. It's up to Freeman to decide who should be held accountable, but based on what I've collected, the Braves don't seem to be held accountable here.
According to sources, the negotiations proceeded as follows. For the record, Excel's chief baseball agent Casey Closedenied the story others told here.
In any case, Freeman himself believes that the Braves worked harder than they had previously thought (although from here on, their offer is comparable to the Dodgers' deal. But the Braves didn't seem to be anxious to keep it, as you can imagine the Braves legend). He responded to the original report of leaving Excel saying the situation was "fluid", but he certainly expects to be likely to leave his agency.
No matter who you believe, something is obviously very Did not work. As Freeman'stears in Atlanta told the story,he was inducted into the Dodgers teammate Clayton Kershaw, who publicly wanted the Dodgers not to be a "second fiddle." I got in.reminded Freeman that the Dodgers were a "quite special" team, and suggested, "If you feel comfortable here, really enjoy it."
For more information, sources say the Braves provided $ 135 million in the five years immediately following the closing date last summer, initially 125 million. Raised $ 10,000 bid (another Excel client, George Springer's annual salary). The Braves were only about .500 at the time, but decided to surpass the $ 130 million contract with Paul Goldschmidt and agreed that Freeman was a good player with an even better resume. did. At that time, Excel suggested that the offer should be for 6 years.
Then, after the lockout is over, Excel will call the Braves on March 12th to offer two counter offers, which require immediate attention and the largest offer. I told you that I need to present it. They were ready to move. That night, Excel offered two options as "Braves prices," sources said. This probably meant a discount deal for his favorite team. It's $ 165 million in five years and $ 175 million in six years. They also increased the urgency by telling the Braves to respond exactly for an hour.
The Braves came back and said they wouldn't appreciate the Excel numbers, but they had to try something for the iconic Braves following the World Series victory and the end of the lockout. Because it had to be, sources verbally provide $ 140 million for five people. It wasn't a big increase for the iconic player, but the Freeman rep could have been able to compete at that point, and the Braves didn't reach at least $ 145 million given his value to the franchise. It's hard to imagine. Instead, the negotiations ended amicably, the two sides began talking about other Excel free agents, and the Braves had something over $ 175 million in the Freeman camp and were trying to accept it, according to sources. I believe I was there.
At that time, the Braves turned his attention to other options, believing that Freeman should be close to trading elsewhere. They tried to engage Anthony Rizzo the next day, but didn't go anywhere because Freeman was told to wait until he got off the board (he might have landed soon after returning to the Yankees). So Braves' GM Alex Anthopoulos called A's Honmachi Billy Beane on March 13 and made a deal with Matt Olson the next day. The Braves soon announced an eight-year contract for $ 168 million. This shows how much they wanted him.
The first problem was that the Braves did not reach the place they wanted, even though they were alleged to have made two competitive offers.
Second, I couldn't get a better deal in LA than what the Braves allegedly offered. $ 162 million for six years in LA, an estimated $ 13 million loss due to an estimated $ 13 million tax increase in California and Georgia and a $ 57 million postponement in LA (Braves postponed anything) Wasn't), and is mitigated by about $ 1. Considering the transaction, the fee to Excel will increase by another $ 1 million, and the amount after deferring will increase by $ 22 million (assuming a 5% fee). Therefore, the Dodgers trading estimates will be about the same or slightly less in the next year of play. In any case, the hand seems to have been overplayed, at least given that Freeman clearly wanted to stay in Georgia.
Excel is the second largest agency in the game, dealing with Derek Jeter, Goldschmidt, Kershaw, Zack Greinke and many other stars, and many great deals (2 for Greinke). It's a huge success with $ 1006.5 million). Immediately after winning a big deal, we are losing the second giant player. Trevor Story remains after a six-year deal with the Red Sox$ 140 millionStill, Excel will probably collect about $ 15 million in commissions from the two transactions.
