The Los Angeles Dodgers are on their first domestic road trip of the 2025 season as they are playing in Philadelphia before heading over to Washington D.C.
However, the trip came without Freddie Freeman, who was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to to March 31. Freeman, who underwent right ankle surgery in the offseason, aggravated his ankle when he slipped in the shower.
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Freeman pushed to continue playing and participated in multiple drills at Dodger Stadium earlier in the week, but still sat out all three games against the Atlanta Braves.
He then underwent testing with encouraging results, but the Dodgers decided to keep Freeman at home to give him extra rest and avoid having his ankle swelling up more while traveling, Dave Roberts said via Sonja Chen of MLB.com:
Freeman will stay back during the road trip through Philadelphia and D.C. He got an MRI on his ankle that “came back the way we wanted it to,” Roberts said.
“The thought was he could have played, but we just felt that — even in talking to Freddie and the training staff — there was potential downside, if we played him, to make it worse,” Roberts said before Friday’s opener against the Phillies. “And given the time of year, the off-days that we’ve had … [it] just made sense for him to stay back, not travel, fly, increase swelling, and then be ready to go, hopefully, when we get home.”
Even after aggravating his ankle, Freeman remained positive because it wasn’t worse and felt he caught a lucky break.
“I did an X-ray, and there’s no chips or anything like that,” Freeman said. “I literally stepped in with my right food, and it slid. I went down. It’s a glass door, so it could’ve been so much worse. I could’ve hit my head or something like that. I’m very thankful it was just a little mishap with my ankle.”
In addition, the offseason surgery to repair Freeman’s ankle could have been much more serious, but his ligaments and tendons were sufficiently healed to the point they did not need to be operated on.
Freddie Freeman was available to play?
Roberts and Freeman both mentioned Wednesday as a possible return date, but the All-Star first baseman sensed the team would prefer to keep him out of the lineup until the start of their road trip.
However, the Dodgers took the cautious route, as they should this early in the season. Had it been the playoffs or an important series, Freeman would have been on the field.
Freeman is eligible to return Thursday, April 10, which is an off day for the Dodgers. It’s likely he will return the following night against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium.
Because Freeman is not on the Dodgers’ road trip, he won’t participate in their White House visit on Monday.
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