Freddie Freeman won’t finish his career one season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 2020 National League MVP and nine-time All-Star has longevity in mind as he looks back on the rest of his Dodgers career. Freeman has two years remaining on the six-year, $162 million contract he signed in 2022, but he is expected to remain in Dodger blue beyond that. The 2024 World Series MVP will also be in the Dodgers’ lineup for every game this season.
“I’m going to be ready to play 162 games,” Freeman told reporters Thursday, including MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. “Then when the day comes or the night comes and they say, ‘We’re going to give you the day off tomorrow,’ I’m going to fight for that fight and probably lose. But I want to play every game.”
Freeman, 36, has played in 147 games in each of the past two seasons. But he played at least 157 games in eight of 16 MLB seasons, including his first two seasons with the Dodgers. He has appeared in all 162 games twice in his career, once in 2014 and 2018 with the Atlanta Braves.
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Playing two years after his current contract expires could put some nice numbers in Freeman’s career. By 2029, he will have played 20 seasons in the major leagues. He was already 40 years old. Two additional seasons could also give Freeman a chance to reach 3,000 career hits.
Freeman enters the 2026 season with 2,431 hits. With 569 at-bats, short of 3,000, he needs to average 142 hits over the next four years. The veteran first baseman has surpassed that total in 11 different seasons and has topped 190 hits three times. He led the National League in hits in 2018 with 191 and the MLB in 2022 with 199 hits. (Amazingly, he had a career-high 211 hits in 2023, second only to NL MVP Ronald Acuña’s 217 hits).
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Is Freeman planting the seeds for an eventual extension?
“Four is just a floating number,” Freeman said, via The Athletic . “Is it less or more? I don’t know… I do love this game. I love playing it. But for me, if I can play four (more) years, that’s 20 years. I think that’s enough.”
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However, the Dodgers may have trouble finding Freeman’s spot in 2028.
If he can’t play first base, designated hitter isn’t an option, and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani will hold the position until 2033. Freeman also could face competition at first base if Josue De Paula, one of the organization’s top prospects, has to move out of the outfield. (He’s headed to Double-A in 2025.) Currently, many scouting reports have this in his future because he’s not a great runner.
However, if Freeman continues to hit above .300, like he has averaged over his career with the Dodgers (.310/.391/.516), the team may find a way to keep him in the lineup.
“I love coming here. I’m from Southern California. I have a great time with the fans,” Freeman said. “I’m not worried about another contract, won’t bring it up, won’t talk about it. I’ve got two years left.
“I’m just an employee. I just do my job and if they want me back, they want me back,” he added. “But I think [Dodgers president of baseball operations] Andrew [Friedman] Everyone knows I love being here. So whatever happens, happens. “
