While free agency over the last two years played out with the Los Angeles Dodgers meeting expectations of being the favorite to sign Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, spring 2022 saw Freddie Freeman fortuitously end up with the team.

Freeman was coming off a World Series championship with the Atlanta Braves, who drafted him in the second round in 2007. He emerged as a franchise cornerstone and was beloved in the Atlanta community.

But contract negotiations stalled and the Braves shockingly moved in another direction by trading for Matt Olson and signing him to an extension.

That directed Freeman to the Dodgers on a bargain six-year, $162 million contract. He’s become a linchpin in the Dodgers lineup and stalwart at first base.

While the 35-year-old has been part of talented teams throughout his career, the 2025 Dodgers arguably rank at the top in terms of collection of talent.

That has drawn the ire of opposing team owners and fanbases, and led to increased calls for an MLB salary cap when a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) needs to go in place after the 2026 season.

Commissioner Rob Manfred has aimed to slow criticism of the Dodgers, but also acknowledged concern throughout the sport needs to be addressed.

Freddie Freeman: Dodgers not bad for baseball

Unsurprisingly, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten, manager Dave Roberts and Blake Snell have been among those to defend the organization, and Freeman recently joined that chorus.

“I’ve been told about the ruining baseball and all this. Like I’ve told you before, to be part of an organization that puts a contending team on the field year in and year out, and what I mean by that is fans are pouring their hard-earned money into us when they come to Dodger Stadium, and to see an organization put it back into the team, I think that’s why everyone is so happy,” Freeman said.

“There’s a buzz around here. There was a buzz last year when we got Shohei, and there is a major buzz here now. That’s a testament to our organization, our fans, our front office. Players want to come here. Mark Walter and the Dodgers organization, they’re putting $100 million in the community, they’re doing so much good stuff.

“I understand people can be mad at us, but when you’re here, they’re doing so much good work. To pour it back into the fans and put a product that people want to come out for six straight months, you never know what you’re going to see.

“To be able to give people memories as an organization, I think it’s pretty special to be part of.”