Sam Freeman (baseball)

Samuel Douglas Freeman (born June 24, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Angels.

Sam Freeman
Freeman with the St. Louis Cardinals
Washington Nationals – No. 39
Pitcher
Born: (1987-06-24) June 24, 1987
Houston, Texas
Bats: Right Throws: Left
MLB debut
June 1, 2012, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
(through August 12, 2020)
Win–loss record8–7
Earned run average3.54
Strikeouts232
Teams

Early life

Freeman started playing baseball at the age of four in the Carrollton Little League in Carrollton, Texas. When he was 12 years old his team won the Carrollton Pony League Championship. Freeman's pitching career started his freshman year of high school, one year before making the varsity team at Hebron High School. He also played football at Hebron his freshman year.

College career

After graduating, Freeman was recruited to play for North Central Texas College (NCTC) where he played for 2 years. Then, Freeman signed with the University of Kansas.

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

After his sophomore year of college, Freeman was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 24th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft.[1] He didn't sign and went on to Kansas for his junior year. After his junior year, he was redrafted by the Cardinals in the 32nd round in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.[2] With the Cardinals, he rose from the Rookie League to AA in three years. He was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in AAA with the Memphis Redbirds.[1] and was later signed to the Cardinals 40-man roster.

Freeman sustained an injury to his elbow requiring Tommy John surgery, which took him out of the 2010 season.[3][4]

Freeman pitching for the Cardinals in New York, 2012

Freeman made his major league debut during Johan Santana's (New York Mets) no-hitter in New York on June 1, 2012.[5] He appeared in 22 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012, posting a record of 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA.[2][6] Following the regular season he was sent by the Cardinals to play in the Arizona Fall League.[2] After appearing in just 13 games in 2013, Freeman pitched in 44 games in 2014 with an ERA of 2.61 in 38 innings.

Texas Rangers

On March 28, 2015, the Texas Rangers acquired Freeman from the Cardinals for a player to be named later.[7] He was designated for assignment on April 5,[8][9] and outrighted on April 15.[10] He was brought back up a few weeks later, finishing the season with 54 appearances for the Rangers.

Milwaukee Brewers

Freeman was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers on April 5, 2016.[11] He was designated for assignment on May 2, 2016, when the team recalled Junior Guerra.[12] With the Brewers, he was 0-0 with a 12.91 ERA.[13]

Atlanta Braves

On October 21, 2016, Freeman signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Atlanta Braves.[14] The Braves promoted him to the majors on May 4, 2017.[15] For the season, he appeared in 58 games, going 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA.

Freeman and the Braves agreed to a one-year contract worth $1.075 million on January 11, 2018.[16][17] He struggled with inconsistency throughout the 2018 season due to a lack of command,[18][19][20] a problem that had been noted by several coaches over the course of his career.[21] In late July, Freeman was placed on the disabled list, and returned to the active roster on August 19.[22][23]

On March 22, 2019, Freeman was unconditionally released from the Atlanta Braves.[24]

Los Angeles Angels

On March 27, 2019, Freeman signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Freeman had his contract selected on April 23, 2019. He was designated for assignment on April 24 following the promotion of Matt Ramsey.[25] He was outrighted on April 29. Freeman was released on August 19, 2019.

Washington Nationals

On August 21, 2019, Freeman signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.[26] He became a free agent following the 2019 season.[27] On February 12, 2020, Freeman re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league deal.[28] On July 23, 2020, Freeman had his contract selected to the 40-man roster.

Awards

The Cardinal Nation/Scout.com Springfield Relief Pitcher of the Year: 2011 Texas League All-Star: 2011 Florida State League All-Star: 2009 Scout.com Johnson City Reliever of the Year: 2008 [29]

References
  1. Samuel Freeman Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  2. Gintonio, Jim (November 15, 2012). "Cardinals prospect Wong brings confident game to AFL". MLB.com via Cardinals team website. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  3. "Cardinals cultivate new crop of lefthanders". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 18, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  4. Haudricourt, Tom (April 6, 2016). "Unsettled bullpen situation led to Sam Freeman/Ariel Pena switch". Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  5. Rohan, Tim (June 2, 2016). "For a Cardinals Pitcher, It's Also a Night of Firsts". New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  7. Sullivan, T.R. (March 28, 2015). "Rangers acquire lefty Freeman from Cardinals". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  8. Sullivan, T.R. (April 4, 2015). "Rangers will take final roster decisions to Sunday". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  9. "Rangers' 25-man roster lacking lefty reliever". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 5, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  10. Sullivan, T. R. (April 15, 2015). "Ranaudo's stay with Rangers a short one". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  11. McCalvy, Adam (April 5, 2016). "Brewers acquire reliever Freeman from Texas". MLB.com. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  12. Haudricourt, Tom (May 1, 2016). "Reliever Sam Freeman designated for assignment". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  14. O'Brien, David (October 21, 2016). "Braves sign lefty Freeman, will get invite to spring training". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  15. Bowman, Mark (May 4, 2017). "Braves summon lefty reliever Freeman". MLB.com. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  16. O'Brien, David (January 11, 2018). "Braves sign Sam Freeman, avoid arbitration with lefty". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  17. Bowman, Mark (January 12, 2018). "Reliever Freeman, Braves avoid arb hearing". MLB.com. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  18. O'Brien, David (June 20, 2018). "Braves' other Freeman needed this one". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  19. Burns, Gabriel (August 14, 2018). "McCarthy, Freeman, Moylan could join Braves' September bullpen". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  20. Burns, Gabriel (July 27, 2018). "Snitker keeps faith that struggling Sam Freeman rediscovers form". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  21. Bowman, Mark (March 4, 2018). "Reliever Freeman taking nothing for granted". MLB.com. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  22. Vivlamore, Chris (August 19, 2018). "Braves activate Sam Freeman from DL". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  23. Bowman, Mark (August 19, 2018). "Braves activate LHP Freeman, option Allard". MLB.com. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  24. Tim Tucker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Braves unconditionally release Sam Freeman". ajc. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  25. Adams, Steve (April 24, 2019). "Angels Select Matt Ramsey, Designate Sam Freeman". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  26. George Miller (August 21, 2019). "Minor MLB Transactions: 8/21/19". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  27. Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  28. Mark Zuckerman (February 12, 2020). "Nats invite 22 non-roster players to big league camp". www.nasnsports.com. MASN. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  29. Brian Walton, "Sam Freeman Profile", 'Scout.com, August 2, 2012
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