Free-agent first baseman Freddie Freeman's market is heating up and his former team likely closed the door on a reunion Monday.
The market is down to four teams -- Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays -- three of which are in the American League East, according to The New York Post's Joel Sherman.
The Dodgers still appear to be the favorite, but Sherman believes Trevor Bauer's playing status could change the team's outlook on their upcoming spending habits.
"My perception of the Freeman market: 1. Dodgers make sense, but how will ownership take payroll without clarification on Bauer's playing (and paying) status for (the 2022) season," Sherman tweeted.
The Blue Jays are listed as the second team, though it's not clear whether Sherman was ranking the teams or just laying out the market. He names the Blue Jays as a "stalking horse" and noted that other teams believe Toronto still has money to spend.
The Yankees are the third team listed, where he brought an interesting perspective.
"Yankees really comes down to if Hal Steinbrenner allows long-term expenditure when (he) wants to also extend (Aaron) Judge and has (Gerrit) Cole/ (Giancarlo) Stanton on books already into late 30s -- plus now (Josh) Donaldson for $50M over next two years," Sherman tweeted. The Yankees have historically been willing to spend plenty, this year they appear hesitant."
As for the Rays, they may not be out of the running entirely, but they "haven't surrendered," as Sherman noted.
When it comes to the AL East, specifically, with DraftKings Sportsbook already projecting the Red Sox with the fourth-best odds to win the division, Boston fans should be concerned about Freeman joining any of the three rivals.
Maybe the most interesting note, Sherman mentioned that there are always mystery teams and included the Red Sox, as well as the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
