MLB Rumors: Surprising Team Linked To Freddie Freeman

According to Jon Heyman, the Tampa Bay Rays made an offer to Freddie Freeman before the lockout.

Sources: The low-revenue Tampa Bay Rays made superstar Freddie Freeman an offer before the lockout. Yankees very interested. Jays, Dodgers, others could fit. It’s a surprise Braves didn’t lock him up before lockout; they remain in mix. (New daily feature: actual baseball news)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 7, 2022

Although the Tampa Bay Rays have been excellent over these last few seasons, it is still very shocking to hear that they pursued Freeman. Why is that? Because the Rays are notoriously a low-revenue team and very rarely sign players to big contracts. When seeing as how Freeman is among the top players in the sport, he understandably is going to command a lot of money.

Freeman once again had himself a season to remember in 2021. In 159 games, he had 30 home runs, 83 RBIs, and a .300 batting average. He also of course led the Braves to their World Series championship. This also came after a season where he was named MVP, so needless to say, he had himself a nice encore.

If the Rays somehow land Freeman, they will need to be okay with handing him a monstrous contract. That doesn't really fit the narrative that the Rays have become famous for, but with this development, it appears that they are willing to consider it if it means landing Freeman.

In 1,565 career games with the Braves, Freeman has 271 home runs, 941 RBIs, and a .295 batting average.