Dodgers' Updated Starting Lineup, Payroll After Freddie Freeman's, $162M Contract
The rest of the National League is officially on notice.
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan reported the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a six-year, $162 million deal with star first baseman Freddie Freeman on Wednesday night.
According to Spotrac, the team's total payroll for the 2022 campaign is $231.5 million.
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Here is a look at the team that money can buy and how it could line up across the diamond in 2022:
- C: Will Smith
- 1B: Freddie Freeman
- 2B: Chris Taylor
- SS: Trea Turner
- 3B: Justin Turner
- OF: Mookie Betts
- OF: Cody Bellinger
- OF: A.J. Pollock
- DH: Max Muncy
Frankly, this was already a World Series contender even before adding Freeman. There is already plenty of star power with Mookie Betts, Justin Turner, Trea Turner and more, and the newest addition will only make the lineup all the more dangerous.
After all, Freeman just helped lead the Atlanta Braves to the 2021 World Series title and has a Hall of Fame-type resume at 32 years old.
That resume features a National League MVP, three Silver Slugger awards, a Gold Glove and five All-Star selections. He finished in the top 10 of MVP voting in each of the last four seasons and six times in all during his career, underscoring how effective he was over a sustained period of time in Atlanta.
Perhaps nothing stands out more to the Dodgers than how he performed in the clutch after slashing .300/.393/.503 with 31 home runs and 83 RBI during the regular season in 2021.
He improved that pace by slashing .304/.420/.625 with five home runs and 11 RBI in 16 playoff games, which is a major reason the Braves won the World Series. He will surely have another opportunity to prove his mettle in the playoffs in Los Angeles given the overall roster and recent track record of the organization.
The Dodgers are aiming for their 10th playoff appearance in a row. They also played in three of the last five World Series and now have one of the best left-handed bats in the league in the middle of an already-dangerous lineup.
Again, the rest of the National League is on notice.
