Wren says Freeman contract first big step in Braves’ plan

After signing Freddie Freeman to an eight-year, $135 million contract that’s easily the largest in franchise history, Braves general manager Frank Wren said it was part of a plan to keep together many of the team’s top young players for years to come.

“We’ve looked to solidify our ballclub going forward, and literally for the last couple of months we’ve been putting together a plan that culminated with this signing,” said Wren, seated next to Freeman and manager Fredi Gonzalez during a news conference Wednesday at Turner Field.

“We’re looking at how we can keep our team together, especially our young, homegrown players, and we have a lot of collaboration from (Braves CEO) Terry McGuirk and (team president) John Schuerholz to make sure this franchise stays strong. And we looked at how we could strategize to make that happen.”

Wren said part of that strategy is linked to increased revenues the Braves expect to get from the move in 2017 to a planned new ballpark in Cobb County. The Braves’ payroll is expected to climb to about $100 million this season, from $90 million in 2013. It still will likely be just below the median major league payroll.

The Braves are counting on increased attendance and revenues at the new ballpark and its planned adjoining retail and entertainment village to help offset the relatively small amount they get from their local TV deal that’s well below other teams’ recent deals.

Freeman gets a $2.875 million signing bonus, then salaries of $5.125 million in 2014, $8.5 million in 2015 and $12 million in 2016. The salary jumps to $20.5 million in 2017, then $21 million in 2018 and 2019, and $22 million in the last two years of the deal, 2020 and 2021.

The salary increase comes in what would’ve been his free-agent years, and coincides with the Braves’ planned move.

“There is also an element of the new situation in Cobb County that allows us to be more competitive, and I think it’s evident by this signing,” Wren said. “So over the course of the last two months we put a lot of planning into it, and we’re excited that we’re able to keep one of the best young players in the National League a Brave for the next eight years … and hopefully much longer after that.”

Freeman, who finished fifth in the National League MVP balloting in his third season in the majors, got a deal that eclipsed retired superstar Chipper Jones’ six-year, $90 million extension through 2006 as the largest contract in Braves history.

“It’s truly an honor. It’s very humbling,” said Freeman, who turned 24 in September and got engaged during the offseason. “This is the team that drafted me in the second round when I was 17 years old and gave me my first opportunity to play professional baseball. It’s a team that has great tradition; I put this jersey on with a lot of pride.

“They gave me a chance to come to the big leagues when I was 20 years old, and it’s been the greatest three-plus years in the big leagues. This is a team I want to play for for a long time.”

When asked if the magnitude of the contract had set in yet, the affable and unassuming California native smiled.

“It still hasn’t really sank in all the way,” said Freeman, whose fiancee, Chelsea Goff, sat in the front row at the news conference, beside his agent, Vic Menocal, and his father, Fred, who flew in from California. “For (the Braves) to believe in me with this kind of contract (and) to have it happen this young, I never thought that would even be possible or imagined that.”

The contract bought out all three of Freeman’s arbitration years and first five years of free agency. Wren was asked about making such a big commitment to Freeman, who now is going to be regarded around baseball as the Braves’ unofficial Face of the Franchise, whether or not he wants that tag.

“He’s turned into one of the best young players in the National League,” Wren said, “as evident by being fifth in the National League MVP voting and being right at the top in batting average this year. And he just continues to get better. I think that was our focus as we looked at our team going forward — he could be a key component of that, and we wanted to keep him here for a long time.”

Freeman hit .319 with a .396 on-base percentage, 23 homers and 109 RBIs, becoming the Braves’ first 100-RBI man since Jones and Jeff Francoeur in 2007. He has hit more than 20 homers in each of his three seasons, and Freeman’s .443 average with runners in scoring position was the second-highest in the majors last season.

“He keeps getting better, and I think there’s still a lot more that we’re going to see out of him,” Gonzalez said….