NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Not long before Braves manager Brian Snitker hosted the first team meeting of spring training Monday morning, he texted Freddie Freeman, who was on the other side of the country. Snitker mentioned that he was about to talk to the players, joking that Freddie still had a few minutes to join the group.
Underneath the humor, the outreach was more about a deeply cherished shared history between Freeman and Snitker. But as they spoke, both player and manager probably already knew that Freeman's old locker -- a space between those of Charlie Morton and Travis d'Arnaud, empty Monday except for 10 dangling white hangers -- will remain unoccupied indefinitely.