Atlanta Braves grant the release of lefty reliever Sam Freeman
By John Le
The Atlanta Braves decided to release the 31-year-old a day after outrighting him to Gwinnett
Well that escalated quickly…Sam Freeman is no longer with the Atlanta Braves, as announced by the club.
A day after getting sent to Triple-A, Freeman most likely elected free agency instead of accepting the assignment.
The #Braves today unconditionally released LHP Sam Freeman from the organization.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 22, 2019
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Freeman has had an up-and-down career with Atlanta, being one of their best relievers in 2017 but then flopped last season. This spring was similar, showing signs of returning to 2017 form during some outings, but then getting lit up for three runs and two walks in an inning in others.
He was signed on a minor league deal by Atlanta in 2017 and pitched to a strong 2.55 ERA in 58 games and was eventually tendered a contract.
The following season was not as glorious, struggling on the mound and dealing with left shoulder inflammation. Freeman ended the 2018 season with a 4.29 ERA.
However, the Braves decided to bring him back again on another one year deal, confusing some fans that were already shocked he was still on the team by the end of the season.
To be fair, he did strike out only one-less than his count in 2017 (59-2017, 58-2018), which amounted to 10.4 per nine innings.
This spring, the lefty appeared in six games and pitched to a 4.50 ERA but struck out eight. With his so-so performance, the Braves chose to send him to Triple-A.
It is likely this was so he could clean things up a bit, and there are a number of other deserving arms fighting for spots in the bullpen.
He was actually one of the names that I expected to rebound this season along with Dansby Swanson and provide some veteran presence in the bullpen.
By releasing Freeman, the Braves saved $1.575 million on the team’s total payroll.
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With him already being outrighted to Triple-A and the number of lefties on the roster, the Braves probably won’t miss him.