LOS ANGELES -- After missing all three of the Dodgers' games against the Braves due to a "little mishap" where he slipped entering the shower at home, Freddie Freeman was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle sprain on Thursday night, retroactive to Monday.
Manager Dave Roberts is optimistic that Freeman will miss the minimum time possible with this IL stint, which is his first since 2020. That would line up Freeman to potentially be activated when the Dodgers return to Los Angeles for their six-game homestand vs. the Cubs and Rockies, which begins next Friday with Freeman's bobblehead night.
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.¡±
While Freeman is out, Kik¨¦ Hern¨¢ndez is expected to get most of the starts at first base. Catcher Hunter Feduccia was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City as the corresponding move for Freeman's IL placement. The 27-year-old Feduccia, who received his 2024 World Series ring upon rejoining the team, will primarily be used as a left-handed pinch-hit option off the bench.
Roberts noted earlier this week that Freeman thought he would be able to play through this latest ailment, but the star first baseman rarely wants to miss a game, regardless of how he's feeling. The only time Roberts could remember Freeman feeling that he couldn't play was during last year's NL Championship Series, when he was managing the same ankle -- which was badly injured at the time and eventually required surgery.
That Freeman took the three rest days before being placed on the IL indicated to his manager that he's taking a bigger-picture view of this season.
"I think that understanding the cost and what it would mean going forward for the rest of the season," Roberts said. "I think that just really opened up his mind of what¡¯s the best way to handle whatever injury. So, this is a lot easier than we expected.¡±
Freeman was expected to get more rest days than usual early on -- much to his chagrin, as his goal every season is to play as much as possible. He also sat out the two-game Tokyo Series to open the season because he was feeling discomfort in his left rib area, another injury that he had played through last postseason.
Prior to 2024, when Freeman missed 15 games to tend to the health of his son, Max, and rest his right ankle when it was initially injured, the 35-year-old had missed no more than four games in a season since '18.
During Spring Training, Freeman said he would likely need to manage his surgically repaired right ankle deep into the regular season. He is still undergoing extensive treatment on the ankle before and after games.
Freeman went 3-for-12 (.250) with two homers, a double and four RBIs in his first three games of the season.
¡°Not to say that we expect [the ankle] to be 100% when he comes off," Roberts said, "but I just think that it¡¯s something that we give a chance to kind of maintain vs. continually going backward as the season progressed. That¡¯s something we just didn¡¯t want him to fight all year.¡±