The Los Angeles Dodgers are less than two weeks away from starting full-squad workouts in what will be another condensed Spring Training, and they are likely to do so without Freddie Freeman being a participant in all activities.
One of the many storylines that surrounded the Dodgers en route to their World Series win was Freeman navigating personal challenges with his son Max battling a neurological disorder, and also ultimately needing to play through multiple injuries.
Freeman sprained his right ankle in the penultimate series of the regular season and suffered torn cartilage in his ribs on the eve of the National League Division Series beginning. He appeared limited at times but together a heroic effort to help the Dodgers capture their eighth World Series in franchise history.
Nearly six weeks later, the Dodgers announced Freeman underwent right ankle surgery.
“During the World Series, I was feeling pretty good. I felt like my ankle was in a good spot. I didn’t limp at all — at least in my mind. When I’m healthy it looks like I’m limping because I don’t run very fast. I thought I was in a good spot, P.T. and rest, I’ll be good to go,” Freeman explained during his appearance at DodgerFest.
“About three weeks after the World Series ended, I was in Georgia doing Thanksgiving, and swelling wasn’t going away in my ankle. I felt something was just not right, so that’s when I text Thomas Albert, our head trainer, and said, ‘When I get home, let’s get this looked at.’
“So I got home on the 30th of November, and December 1st, I had my MRI. About 10 minutes after that MRI ending they were like, ‘You need surgery.’ That’s why it took a little bit longer, just because of how I felt in the World Series, I thought rest would be good. So we went in there and cleaned it up.”
While Freeman’s surgery occurred late in 2024, there was some good fortune on his side as the procedure did not entail needing to address the full range of possibilities.
“When they went in, they didn’t know if they were going to have to repair some of the ligaments because I had torn some of my ligaments as well in my ankle. It was quite a nasty injury I had. Luckily, in those four weeks, the ligaments and tendons had healed enough where they didn’t have to fix them.
“They went in, I had chipped off a part of my cartilage and it floated all the way to the Achilles, so that was one of the things they had to do. And they shaved some spurs down, shaved some bones down.
“Two days ago it was eight weeks from my surgery, and I hit for the first time. I felt good and I hit again [Friday]. I’m feeling pretty good.”
Freddie Freeman confident for Tokyo Series
The 35-year-old anticipates beginning “side-to-sides movement-wise” by the end of this week as he also continues with a hitting progression.
Freeman also mentioned that being in the Dodgers lineup when they begin Cactus League play on Thursday, Feb. 20, is unlikely. The Dodgers have just 20 Spring Training games before breaking camp, which even with the reduced number, should give Freeman an opportunity to prepare for Opening Day.
“As of right now I am on track to be able to play in Tokyo,” Freeman added.
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