DENVER, CO – APRIL 9: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers bats in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 9, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Update: Casey Close’s agency has strongly denied the rumor floated by Gottlieb.
“Doug Gottlieb tweeted a wholly inaccurate characterization of our negotiations with the Atlanta Braves on behalf of Freddie Freeman. We are immediately evaluating all legal options to address the reckless publication of inaccurate information.”
Earlier: There’s been a lot of speculation as to why Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman fired agent Casey Close a few days back. But one rumor currently swirling has perked a few ears up.
Taking to Twitter, Doug Gottlieb speculated that Close never told Freeman about the final offer the Atlanta Braves were offering before he took the Dodgers offer. He suggested that Close may have hidden the deal from Freeman because he knew Freeman would have taken it.
“Casey Close never told Freddie Freeman about the Braves final offer, that is why Freeman fired him. He found out in Atlanta this weekend. It isn’t that rare to have happen in MLB, but it happened – Close knew Freddie would have taken the ATL deal,” Gottlieb wrote.
Gottlieb’s tweet has whipped up a frenzy of discussion among MLB fans. It already has over 5,000 likes and 3,000 retweets in under an hour.
But while some people agree that this is the most likely case, others are a little more skeptical:
“This feels…off. Casey Close has been around way too long to risk running off his entire client base on one contract,” Kate Feldman of the New York Daily News wrote.
But others do agree and feel bad for Freeman:
“This is just awful. The emotional trip back to Atlanta. The tears. It all makes sense. What a fiasco. I feel awful for Freddie,” wrote FOX’s Ben Verlander.
“Oh noooooo,” Deadspin’s Julie DiCaro tweeted.
It would be a massive scandal if found to be true to be honest.