Michael Barrett Freeman (born August 4, 1987) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Career

Amateur

Freeman attended

Edgewater High School Edgewater High School is a public secondary school located in the College Park section of Orlando, Florida. It is operated by the Orange County Public Schools system. The athletic teams are known as the 'Fighting Eagles' with colors red and white ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. Out of high school he was drafted by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

in the 41st round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He did not sign and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

. In 2008, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Brook ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Arizona Diamondbacks

After his junior year he was drafted by the

in the 36th round of the 2009 MLB Draft but did not sign and returned to Clemson. He was then drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 11th round of the

2010 MLB Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

and signed. Freeman was called up to the majors for the first time on July 17, 2016.

Seattle Mariners

Freeman was claimed off waivers by the

on August 1, 2016. He was designated for assignment on March 1, 2017.

Los Angeles Dodgers

He was claimed off waivers by the

on May 26, 2017. The Dodgers designated him for assignment him on July 31.

Chicago Cubs

On August 6, 2017, Freeman signed a minor league deal with the

. Freeman ultimately played in 15 games for the Cubs, but was not included on the playoff roster following the season. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017. On January 25, 2018, Freeman resigned a minor league deal with the

and received an invitation to spring training. He was designated for assignment after the season and then became a free agent.

Cleveland Indians

Freeman signed a minor-league deal with a spring training invitation with the

on November 20, 2018. He had his contract selected on April 16, 2019. Freeman was designated for assignment on December 15, 2019 and subsequently outrighted to the minor leagues on December 19, 2019. The Indians selected Freeman's contract on July 23, 2020. Overall with the 2020 Cleveland Indians, Freeman batted .237 with no home runs and 3 RBIs in 24 games. On October 30, 2020, Freeman was outrighted off of the Indians' 40-man roster; he subsequently elected free agency. On February 4, 2021, Freeman re-signed with the Indians on a minor league contract.

Cincinnati Reds

On March 12, 2021, Freeman was traded to the

in exchange for cash. He did not make the Reds'

opening day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster. On June 1, Freeman was selected to the active roster. On August 15, Freeman was designated for assignment by the Reds. On August 17, Freeman was sent outright to the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

. On October 12, Freeman elected free agency.

Coaching career

On January 25, 2023, Freeman was hired by the

organization to serve as the manager for the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

, Seattle’s Double-A affiliate.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Mike 1987 births Living people Baseball players from Orlando, Florida Major League Baseball outfielders Arizona Diamondbacks players Seattle Mariners players Los Angeles Dodgers players Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Cincinnati Reds players Clemson Tigers baseball players Brewster Whitecaps players Yakima Bears players South Bend Silver Hawks players Visalia Rawhide players Mobile BayBears players Salt River Rafters players Reno Aces players Hillsboro Hops players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tacoma Rainiers players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Iowa Cubs players Columbus Clippers players Edgewater High School alumni