The Los Angeles Dodgers are a week into their Cactus League schedule, but a handful of their most important contributors for 2025 have yet to see any action.
Freddie Freeman and Will Smith have both been among those absent from Dodgers Spring Training games thus far as they continue to recover from ankle injuries. For Freeman specifically, he had offseason surgery to address lingering issues in the right ankle he sprained during the final week of the regular season.
Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani has been dealing with residual discomfort from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, and been on a steady progression toward playing in his first game.
Dodgers updates
Freddie Freeman
In an effort to test if his right ankle is prepared for the demands of playing at game speed, Freeman has recently resumed running, but not yet advanced to jumping and landing.
Freeman’s Cactus League debut is confirmed for Thursday, but it will be in a designated hitter role as the Dodgers are not comfortable playing him in the field as of now.
“The running, he’s passed all of those checkmarks. Jumping, coming down on the ankle, is something we don’t feel 100% right now,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier in the week.
“So he’s going to test that out. But the hitting, the running, fielding the grounders, we feel really good about.”
Shohei Ohtani
It has already been confirmed that Ohtani will not be making an appearance on the mound during Spring Training, but his shoulder feels comfortable enough to take swings as DH on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels.
On the pitching side of things, he took a “big step” during his latest bullpen session. Ohtani also continues to experiment with pitching out of the windup.
Will Smith
Smith is also making his 2025 Dodgers Spring Training debut on Friday. A left ankle injury that has persisted since last season caused a slow build-up during camp.
Like Freeman and Ohtani, Smith has been facing live pitching during recent workouts at Camelback Ranch.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
