Freddie Freeman doesn’t sound anywhere close to 100% ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ NLDS opener against the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers first baseman has been dealing with an ankle injury that kept him out of the team’s final three regular season contests.
The positive news for Dodgers fans is that the 35-year-old confirmed he would be available to play in Saturday’s Game 1 at Dodger Stadium. But Freeman also revealed that had his injury occurred in the middle of the regular season, he would have likely been out of the lineup for at least a month.
Freddie Freeman said he was told this would’ve been a 4-6 week IL stint if all were normal right now. Said he still has been able to check all the boxes and everything feels good enough after today.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) October 5, 2024
Freeman sustained the injury occurred during the Dodgers’ final regular season series against the same Padres. The 8-time All-Star got hurt while trying to avoid a tag at first base.
Freddie Freeman has left the game after twisting his ankle trying to avoid a tag at first base. pic.twitter.com/I5u2x4RZW5
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 27, 2024
Freeman is now able to move laterally and field grounders without much issue.
Freddie Freeman fielding grounders and moving laterally on that sprained ankle. So far so good for the #Dodgers first baseman. pic.twitter.com/sVJ0t59iuE
— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) October 4, 2024
It would take a lot more than a minor ankle injury to keep Freeman out of the lineup for the playoffs. The 2020 AL MVP has missed just 26 games combined over his last seven seasons.
Back in July, Freedom suffered a gruesome finger injury that left him unable to brush his teeth. He managed to return after just 10 days.
