Freddie Freeman is not taking his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers one season at a time.
The 2020 National League MVP and nine-time All-Star has longevity in mind when looking at the rest of his Dodgers career. Freeman has two years remaining on the six-year, $162 million contract he signed in 2022, but envisions remaining in Dodger Blue beyond that. The 2024 World Series MVP also sees himself in the lineup for every game the Dodgers play this season.
“I’m going to prepare to play 162 games,” Freeman told reporters on Thursday, including MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. “Then when that day comes or the night comes where they say, ‘We’re going to give you tomorrow off,’ I will fight that battle and most likely lose. But I want to play every game.”
Freeman, 36, has played 147 games in each of the past two seasons. But he’s played in at least 157 games in eight of his 16 MLB seasons, including his first two with the Dodgers. And he’s appeared in all 162 games twice in his career, during the 2014 and 2018 seasons with the Atlanta Braves.
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Playing two years beyond his current contract could create some nice round numbers for Freeman’s career. Going through 2029 would give him 20 seasons in the major leagues. He would be 40 years old. And an extra two seasons could also give Freeman an opportunity to reach 3,000 career hits.
Freeman goes into the 2026 season with 2,431 hits. At 569 hits short of 3,000, he would need to average 142 hits during the next four years. The veteran first baseman has surpassed that total in 11 different seasons, and topped 190 hits three times. He led the NL with 191 hits in 2018 and MLB with 199 hits in 2022. (Amazingly, his career-high 211 hits in 2023 finished second to NL MVP Ronald Acuña’s 217.)
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Is Freeman planting the seeds for an eventual contract extension?
“Four is just a number that’s floated,” Freeman said, via The Athletic. “Is it less? Is it more? I don’t know. … I do love this game. I love playing it. But for me, if I can do four (more years), that’ll be 20 years. I think that’s enough.”
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However, it’s possible that the Dodgers could have difficulty finding a position for Freeman by 2028.
If he can’t play first base, designated hitter isn’t an option with four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani manning that spot through 2033. Freeman may also face competition at first base if one of the organization’s top prospects, Josue De Paula, has to move from the outfield. (He finished 2025 in Double-A.) Currently, many scouting reports believe that’s in his future since he’s not a good runner.
Yet if Freeman continues to hit above .300, as he’s averaged during his Dodgers career (.310/.391/.516), the team will likely find a way to keep him in the lineup.
“I love being here. I’m from Southern California. I’ve had a great time with fans,” Freeman said. “I’m not worried about another contract, not going to bring it up, not going to talk about it. I have two years left.
“I’m just an employee. I just do my job, and if they want me back, they want me back,” he added. “But I think [Dodgers president of baseball operations] Andrew [Friedman] and everyone knows that I love being here. So whatever happens, happens.”
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