NEW YORK — Could Freddie Freeman be donning a Mets uniform at the end of this lockout?
The Mets and GM Billy Eppler checked in on Freeman before Dec. 2, joining a handful of other teams in pursuit of the free-agent first baseman, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney. Besides his 2021 champion Braves, the Dodgers, Yankees and Blue Jays are some of the other teams said to be interested in signing Freeman.
“There’s a perception in the industry that Freddie Freeman is not going back to the Braves,” Olney said Thursday on “The Michael Kay Show.” “Last summer, it was assumed, ‘Yeah, eventually he’ll go back there.’ Now, they don’t believe that. And here’s the interesting thing: one of the teams that checked on Freddie Freeman’s availability before Dec. 2 were the Mets.”
There are a few things to unpack here.
For one, the Mets would blow past a $300 million payroll in 2022 if they actually signed Freeman. As we know, spending that money is no big deal for billionaire owner Steve Cohen. But, depending on whether harsh luxury tax penalties make it into the next CBA, the Mets could be giving up more draft picks for their acquisition of Freeman. On the other hand, Cohen and the Mets are in win-now mode. By signing Max Scherzer to a three-year deal, the Mets have already emphasized they are all-in in 2022. Picking up Freeman, whether it’s a short-term contract like four years for $130 million or a longer-term deal, would only further boost the Mets’ stance among National League pennant favorites.
Two, what would a Mets-Freeman bombshell signing mean for first baseman Pete Alonso? As recently as October, Alonso said he is “not at all” interested in being a full-time DH if it made its way into the CBA.
“I think I’m a really good first baseman with potential to win a Gold Glove,” Alonso said on Oct. 1 — on the field at the Braves’ Truist Park, of all places. “I think that I would be selling myself short to label myself as that. If I need to DH maybe one day, or if someone needs to rotate in, that’s fine.
“But I’m a first baseman. I don’t think I’ll ever think of myself as a DH. And I think that as I continue to progress, I’m going to be able — not just win one Gold Glove — but I feel like I’m going to win multiple in my career. This is only my third year, so I’m just going to keep getting better.”
While Alonso was clearly strong in his opinion of wanting to remain at first base, it’s also easy to see him accepting being the DH if the Mets went and got, well, Freddie freaking Freeman.
The Mets would be upgrading in two ways; one, by planting their best slugger — and the MLB leader in home runs since his 2019 rookie season — at the soon-to-be-introduced universal DH. There is arguably no other NL team that could immediately use the universal DH to their advantage like the Mets would if they plugged Alonso into the role.
And two, the Mets would unmistakably be upgrading at first base by acquiring Freeman, who last year led the NL in runs scored (120) and plate appearances (695), while slashing .300/.393/.503 across 159 games and leading Atlanta to its fourth straight NL East title. Freeman still wasn’t finished. He slugged in every round of the 2021 playoffs to help give the Braves their first World Series championship in 26 years.
There’s another NL East team with a 36-year championship drought that Freeman could help out. But much of the belief in the industry is that if the Braves do step up and meet the type of big-money contract that Freeman is asking for, then he will remain in Atlanta with the team that drafted him 15 years ago and where he has played for the entirety of his 12-year major league career.
Of course, the excitement surrounding Freeman’s free agency — and other star players like Carlos Correa and Kyle Schwarber — will be held off until the lockout is over and transactions are unfrozen. Whenever that happens, fans can expect a bizarre and hectic week of free-agent signings that will make heads spin. But until then, Mets fans can dream, because a potential Freeman signing can make the Mets an undeniable threat.
