Don't tell Freddie Freeman the Atlanta Braves are rebuilding.
The first baseman isn't fazed by the flurry of offseason moves made by the club, and is optimistic the Braves will be competitive in 2015.
"It's going to be different than what I'm used to, but it's exciting," Freeman told MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "We've got a whole different team. Obviously as a person and a friend, it's tough to see your friends leave - especially with Jason (Heyward) leaving. We've got Shelby (Miller) here now and we've got a lot of young talent. I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."
The Braves struggled to produce runs with sluggers Justin Upton, Evan Gattis and Heyward in the lineup last year. Atlanta averaged only 3.54 runs per game (29th) and hit .241 (26th) as a team. With the trio now out of the picture, the Braves will rely even more heavily on their pitching staff moving forward.
"I think we're going to be good for a lot of years. Maybe, it will start this year," Freeman added. "But our pitching staff is what will keep us in a lot of games this year. If the pitchers can keep us in the game, we've got a lot of speed guys and a lot of guys who make contact. So, hopefully, we can move some runners and get some runners in this year."
The onus will now be on Freeman to be the primary run producer, and the Braves are hoping he can improve upon his .288 average, 18 homers and 78 RBIs from a year ago.