Dodgers spring training live updates: Freddie Freeman give rave review of Jason Heyward

PHOENIX – Freddie Freeman began lobbying the front office even before the end of last season.

As the Dodgers headed toward the playoffs in August, their all-star first baseman noticed that a very different situation was unfolding in Chicago with his former teammate and close friend Jason Heyward.

After a celebrated seven-year run with the Cubs, Heyward’s time with the organization was coming to an apparent end. For the first time since 2016, the 33-year-old outfield player should become a free agent.

Though Heyward was years away from the peak of his career — which began with an All-Star rookie season at Atlanta in 2010 and culminated in 2016 with the Cubs World Series — Freeman still believed in the five-time Gold Glove winner and former first-rounder Pick could contribute to an MLB team.

Although free agency was still several months away, Freeman began to nudge Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, in Heyward’s direction.

“I put Jason’s name on the radar, then I put it back on and just went on and on and on,” Freeman said. “I was just letting Andrew know what a wonderful man this guy is.”

The pitch paid off.

After the season was over and Heyward came on the scene, the Dodgers were not only the first team to call him, but also the most persistent. They saw the potential to retool the veteran’s swing. They liked his defensive versatility in multiple outfield positions. And of course they had Freeman’s vocal endorsement.

So, in early December, Heyward and the team agreed to a minor league contract with an invite to big league spring training.

And when Freeman entered the clubhouse at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch this week, he found Heyward’s locker right next to his.

“It’s nice,” said Freeman, who came through the Braves minor league system with Heyward and spent five seasons playing alongside him at Atlanta. “I’m hearing all the rave reviews the guys are talking to Jason about, I’m just so happy for him. It’s nice to see him next to me again.”

Heyward isn’t a castle to create the Dodgers’ big league roster. He is coming off the worst two seasons of his 13-year career. And he has plenty of competition in the outfield, where four or five players – including James Outman, Bradley Zimmer, Steven Duggar and maybe even Trayce Thompson – are vying for what is likely the last two positional spots on the squad.

However, Freeman had an enthusiastic review of Heyward’s offseason program — which included time in practice in Southern California at both Dodger Stadium and with Freeman in Orange County.

“You’ll see why he was picked in the first round,” Freeman said, optimistic that Heyward’s new swing, which includes moving his hand position further back, “may have unlocked something.”

“He trains hard, he works hard, his work ethic, he’s been at it a long time, he’s won a championship,” Freeman added. “He’s just a wonderful person and it’s great for this team to have him in this clubhouse.”