Around the Majors - 2022 Version

[clvclv]

I think the Braves offer was 5/135, then the ultimatum was given to AA, then AA offered 5/140, then the hour passed, then AA moved on.

Sounds to me like the agent issued time limit, then was shocked someone took that time limit seriously and moved on after it passed.

He played hardball, got bit, then had to pivot to a worse offer from the Dodgers.

I will admit I personally find it really hard to believe that Close didn't INFORM Freddie about the 5/140 (or 5/135) offer at all. That's playing with the type of fire even Borass doesn't play with.

What I wonder is whether he told Freddie that he gave Alex an hour to - at least - increase the last offer he made and get back to him. Alex could have taken the 5/165 or 6/175 as an ultimatum and when the decision was made that they simply weren't going that far there was no need to call Close back. When Close didn't call at the end of the hour to say there was some flexibility in the numbers on Freddie's side AA just moved on to working the Olson trade out.

That would seem to make sense on all 3 fronts with the real problem being that AA and Close weren't on the same page...

1.) Alex thought he had to go to at least 5/165 because that was the deal on the table from someone else - he's not lying when he says that he was under the impression that the Braves' offer wasn't close.
2.) Close thought that Alex would call at the end of that hour and say "we're just not going there", and the phone never rang.
3.) Freddie's rightfully *issed because while he was informed about the 5/140 (or 5/135), Close never told him the level of chicken he was playing had advanced so far that Close was issuing deadlines and ultimatums.

[Russ2dollas]

I will admit I personally find it really hard to believe that Close didn't INFORM Freddie about the 5/140 (or 5/135) offer at all. That's playing with the type of fire even Borass doesn't play with.

What I wonder is whether he told Freddie that he gave Alex an hour to - at least - increase the last offer he made and get back to him. Alex could have taken the 5/165 or 6/175 as an ultimatum and when the decision was made that they simply weren't going that far there was no need to call Close back. When Close didn't call at the end of the hour to say there was some flexibility in the numbers on Freddie's side AA just moved on to working the Olson trade out.

That would seem to make sense on all 3 fronts with the real problem being that AA and Close weren't on the same page...

1.) Alex thought he had to go to at least 5/165 because that was the deal on the table from someone else - he's not lying when he says that he was under the impression that the Braves' offer wasn't close.
2.) Close thought that Alex would call at the end of that hour and say "we're just not going there", and the phone never rang.
3.) Freddie's rightfully *issed because while he was informed about the 5/140 (or 5/135), Close never told him the level of chicken he was playing had advanced so far that Close was issuing deadlines and ultimatums.

a lot of semantics being used about what is and is not an offer.

I'm not in this area and I don't know. It seems unlikely to me that teams actually write up offers and fax them to agents. My guess is AA says, "I'm thinking 5 years and 135, can't do 6 years." And the idea is that they negotiate and when they are close actual offers get made.

The agent seems to try and make the braves look bad by saying there was never an offer.

[Southcack77]

Freeman could likely sue Close if reports are true. Agents owe a fiduciary duty to their client to put the client's interests above their own. By not relaying an offer to their client for fear their client would accept is a massive breach of that duty.

I think Freeman should sue him. Agents need to be reminded who they work for.

Sounds more like a grievance than a lawsuit.

[CyYoung31]

That didn’t take long:

[msstate7]

That didn’t take long:

The tweeters in the thread don't seem to be fans of the author

[CrimsonCowboy]

That didn’t take long:

Terrible column. That guy has no clue about Freddie Freeman

[MadduxFanII]

Jon Heyman has a piece with more of a detailed tick-tock than I've seen anywhere else.

[CrimsonCowboy]

Pretty cool by Max Scherzer

[Mad Dog Murph]

Pretty cool by Max Scherzer

I went to the wrong rehab

[MadduxFanII]

That $7,000 is more than most franchises spend on food for their minor leaguers all season.

[clvclv]

Terrible column. That guy has no clue about Freddie Freeman

BS.

Sums up the situation pretty well if you're not a Braves fan - actually more Freddie fan than Braves fan.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting more than the Braves were offering - NOTHING. That's doing his job as a husband and a father looking out for a more secure future for himself and his family. I don't think any sane people blame him for doing that. The issue is that he continues trying to spin a rational decision into this drama where someone was holding a gun to his head and he had no choice. Just stop with that already because EVERYONE knows that isn't true.

I've always thought I'd be a huge Freeman guy forever regardless of where he played or finished his career. The way he's handled this situation is certainly testing that - it's entirely without class.

[striker42]

Best I can tell Casey Close isn't an attorney. The Freeman saga is exactly why I'd never use an agent that wasn't an attorney. An attorney pulls this crap you can report them to the relevant attorney regulating entity. There are ethical issues for an attorney that does something like this.

I'd actually argue negotiating contracts like this for another is the unauthorized practice of law.

[Buzzworm]

Touki DFA’d
Really hate it.
Kid has all the pitches to be a solid major leaguer but it just never has come together but for a string of starts last season.
Hope he catches on with someone and turns it around.

[CyYoung31]

Touki DFA’d
Really hate it.
Kid has all the pitches to be a solid major leaguer but it just never has come together but for a string of starts last season.
Hope he catches on with someone and turns it around.

Damn shame.

[Enscheff]

Jon Heyman has a piece with more of a detailed tick-tock than I've seen anywhere else.

This is almost exactly the series of events I spelled out. Close tried to play chicken, AA made the best offer possible, then moved on.

At the end Close’s bluff was called and Freeman ended up with less money in his pocket and out of the city he preferred. Seems like a perfectly good reason to fire an agent.

[The Chosen One]

Touki DFA’d
Really hate it.
Kid has all the pitches to be a solid major leaguer but it just never has come together but for a string of starts last season.
Hope he catches on with someone and turns it around.

At the end of the day Phil Gosselin got his revenge

[bravesfanMatt]

Wonder if a team will claim him. He might be in the system still if he doesn’t get claimed and accepts the assignment

[clvclv]

Wonder if a team will claim him. He might be in the system still if he doesn’t get claimed and accepts the assignment

Feel relatively sure someone will claim him and do what the Braves should have done with a kid with that kind of stuff - take away a pitch and turn him into a late-inning weapon.

[clvclv]

Wow!!!

Our old pal Bryse Wilson beat the Brewers today.

[Runnin]