After pissing away what could have been an exciting hot stove season with a lockout, baseball finally came back last week. Thank the gods. All of us Dodger fans who had to fester since Corey Seager's departure
The Dodgers didn't waste any time by announcing the return of Clayton Kershaw (one year, $17M, but with incentivs that could take it to $21M based on number of starts). That's a great sign and every Dodgers fan is delighted to see Kershaw back in blue.
And then late last night, the Dodgers got the big prize in Freddie Freeman (6 years, $162M). That's a hefty price for a 32-year-old but his performance and durability have been great so far, and he's returning to Southern California after spending all of his career in Atlanta.
$162M is basically 27 times what was offered by the Giants to get former Brave Joc Pederson, so one could say we got Freeman for the price of 27 Joc straps.
Adding Freeman, the fourth former league MVP on this 2022 Dodgers team (along with Kershaw, Mookie Betts, and Cody Bellinger), gave me pause to scream, like this guy:
I think he's saying "FREEEEEEMAN!!!!!" But my memory of that movie is spotty, and I can't quite make out the small print subtitle.
Here's another take on the Freeman deal, from ESPN's Jeff Passan:
In nearly 20 years covering baseball, not sure I’ve seen a better lineup than the one the Dodgers will use this season. In some order, it’s going to be Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor and A.J. Pollock.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 17, 2022
Let's f'ing go.
