As the Los Angeles Dodgers enter their first full week of Spring Training games, their lineup will soon see the 2022 debuts of Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.
Following his team’s second tie of Cactus League play, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Kirsten Watson on SportsNet LA that Muncy was expected to start Monday against the Chicago White Sox. Freeman will make his Dodgers debut Tuesday, and Betts is due to play in his first game on Wednesday.
Muncy spent the offseason recovering from a dislocated left elbow and torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), and recently declared he would be in the Dodgers lineup for Opening Day of the 2022 season. Muncy went 0-for-1 with a walk and run scored in Monday’s loss.
The Dodgers formally introduced Freeman at Camelback Ranch last week and he’s taken part in multiple workouts on the backfields.
Betts, another one of the Dodgers’ four former MVPs, said he has moved on from the lower back trouble and bone spur in his right hip that required cortisone injections and time on the 10-day injured list.
Due to the MLB lockout, players have less than three weeks to prepare for the regular season, which for the Dodgers begins April 8 against the Colorado Rockies.
Despite the shortened time frame, there should be no concern over Betts or Freeman being ready on time. Both players are veterans and among the best pure hitters in the game, so they know how much work they’ll need to prepare.
Muncy could fall into that category as well, but he did caution a true evaluation of the health of his left elbow won’t be determined until getting to face live pitching in games.
Turner gets ‘assist’ for Freeman signing with Dodgers
Freeman entered free agency for the first time in his career after spending 15 years in the Atlanta Braves organization. It was expected he would re-sign with the Braves, but that didn’t stop the Dodgers’ recruiting efforts.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts led the push for Freeman, but Justin Turner was also quite involved in the process.
“We’ve got to give an assist to Justin Turner,” Freeman said during his introductory press conference. “His name popped up on my phone quite a bit throughout this whole process.”
Turner began informally recruiting Freeman five years ago, when of course the Dodgers front office and coaches were not allowed to as that would’ve constituted tampering with a player still under contract.
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