Freddie Freeman. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Willson Contreras fired shots at the Cubs, Freddie Freeman twisted the knife in Braves fans, Manny Machado dropped a hint and more in our MLB news roundup.
The start of MLB Spring Training gives fans a little taste of baseball that they’ve been longing for. But with that also comes players getting to speak with the media, which has a tendency to deliver quite a bit of MLB news from around the league.
Whether that’s players on new teams making some shocking comments, players talking about their future with their current team, or something else, it’s definitely soundbite season for baseball and the players have been delivering the goods.
These are some of the biggest, ear-perking comments that we’ve heard throughout MLB over the past few days.
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MLB News: Freddie Freeman heaps praise on Steve Cohen, Mets
It was hard for Atlanta Braves fans to not have some feelings of deja vu this offseason as Dansby Swanson signed with the Cubs in free agency. This came one year after an offseason when former NL MVP and fan-favorite Freddie Freeman opted to sign with the Dodgers as a free agent.
Things got a bit murky throughout last season about how much effort the Braves made to re-sign Freeman and what his agent’s influence on the decision was. However, it was clear upon his return to chants of “Freddie” from the Atlanta faithful that he remained an icon for fans. His latest comments might change that, though.
When asked about the Braves’ biggest rival, the New York Mets, Freeman lauded Steve Cohen and his team for what they’ve been doing.
“I love what he’s doing,” Freeman said, via Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “He wants to win. He’s telling the fans, ‘I’m in this with you guys.’ He’s a fan of baseball, and he’s a fan of his team.”
Freeman went on to iterate that he didn’t have a problem with Cohen’s over-the-top spending to improve the Mets, noting that it was every other team’s job to beat them. Having said that, seeing the former Brave be so highly complimentary of the Mets is not going to be popular in Atlanta.
Perhaps the only way that Freeman could’ve twisted the knife in the collective heart of Atlanta would’ve been signing with the Mets instead of the Dodgers.