First baseman Freddie Freeman is in the final year of his contract with the Atlanta Braves. While both parties have expressed interest in getting a deal done, there has not been any movement toward that result.
Prior to Tuesday's game against the New York Yankees, Freeman was asked about the status of his contract and said there have been no discussions.
“I don’t know if we could really even talk right now,” Freeman said. “That would be a distraction, and I don’t like distractions." (Full story here).
Joe Patrick, who covers the Braves for 92.9 The Game, joined the Midday Show on Thursday and explained why the non-discussions regarding Freeman's contract are a big issue.
"He did sound a bit irritated," Patrick described Freeman after he was asked about his contract status.
"I think it was probably something he would've, you know, ideally wanted to have tied up by now...I think that he definitely, but also the Braves, would have like to have had this thing kind of wrapped up with a bow on it by the time the season started."
Patrick said not having a deal done now not only impacts Freeman's future, but it limits the Braves to what their able to do trade-wise this season.
"It really does throw a big wrench into things, not just I think in terms of obviously getting him re-signed, but also in terms of what this team can do this season when it comes down to trying to make trades to improve this roster to get them into the playoffs potentially. It's not a great situation, I'll be perfectly honest."
What's the concern level?
"It's pretty high," Patrick continued. "To me, this signals that there are money issues, at least with what the Braves can offer at this point right now."
"The way that this Freddie Freeman contract is playing out makes me think that, you know, this team has to prepare to pay probably more than they want to or were anticipating for. If you're going to have to do that, then that means that you really have to cut back, potentially, in maybe some budget that you had saved that you could use to help this team this season. It's not a good situation."
