NL East: 10 Most Compelling Players
Freddie Freeman, Braves. It was only one year ago that Freeman signed his eight-year, $135 million deal,
and how excited he must have been when he signed it. It's a lot of
money, obviously, but he also must have been thrilled to know that he
was signing with one of the most stable franchises in baseball, a team
built to compete for a division title regularly. One calendar year
later, everything on the Braves has exploded, with a new GM, a new
stadium on the horizon and just about every other quality player on the
team shipped away. How does Freeman respond when he looks around and
sees that he's the only real star left on this team? Is he really that
much of a star anyway? Will he freak out if the Braves trade Craig
Kimbrel? These next seven years must seem really uncertain right now.
B.J. Upton, Braves. Upton hit 28 home runs two years
ago and stole 31 bases. He was almost a 30-30 guy! Now Upton is
basically the epitome of Free Agent Disaster, setting a franchise record
for strikeouts and, by the end of last year, practically batting behind
the pitcher in the lineup. How does a person fall off a cliff like this
when they're supposed to be in their prime? He was actually better last
year than he was in 2013. What has happened to Upton is baffling in
every way and he's still going to be in the lineup every day in 2015,
on a team with no illusions of contending. (Well, maybe some illusions.) Upton is a daily example of why this game is so impossible to figure out.
SoE
Freddie Freeman, Braves. It was only one year ago that Freeman signed his eight-year, $135 million deal,
and how excited he must have been when he signed it. It's a lot of
money, obviously, but he also must have been thrilled to know that he
was signing with one of the most stable franchises in baseball, a team
built to compete for a division title regularly. One calendar year
later, everything on the Braves has exploded, with a new GM, a new
stadium on the horizon and just about every other quality player on the
team shipped away. How does Freeman respond when he looks around and
sees that he's the only real star left on this team? Is he really that
much of a star anyway? Will he freak out if the Braves trade Craig
Kimbrel? These next seven years must seem really uncertain right now.
B.J. Upton, Braves. Upton hit 28 home runs two years
ago and stole 31 bases. He was almost a 30-30 guy! Now Upton is
basically the epitome of Free Agent Disaster, setting a franchise record
for strikeouts and, by the end of last year, practically batting behind
the pitcher in the lineup. How does a person fall off a cliff like this
when they're supposed to be in their prime? He was actually better last
year than he was in 2013. What has happened to Upton is baffling in
every way and he's still going to be in the lineup every day in 2015,
on a team with no illusions of contending. (Well, maybe some illusions.) Upton is a daily example of why this game is so impossible to figure out.
SoE
