LOS ANGELES -- Freddie Freeman feels good enough to steal a base.
¡°I feel as free as I possibly can be right now, way better than I have the last couple weeks. So I have no reservations going to this game,¡± Freeman, who¡¯s been dealing with a right ankle sprain, told reporters before Friday¡¯s game against the Cubs at Dodger Stadium. ¡°So if there's times on my side, I'll be able to go now. I feel pretty good about where my ankle is.¡±
Manager Dave Roberts had other thoughts about that.
¡°No,¡± Roberts said about Freeman having the green light. ¡°It¡¯s just red as red can be. Fire engine red.¡±
Freeman was activated from the 10-day injured list and back in the Dodgers' lineup as the cleanup hitter in their 3-0 win over the Cubs, coincidentally on the same night that the team gave away a bobblehead depicting Freeman's one-of-a-kind walk-off grand slam from Game 1 of the 2024 World Series. His son, Charlie, threw out the first pitch.
Fans showed their excitement for Freeman¡¯s bobblehead, with many lining up several hours before the Dodger Stadium gates opened and the stadium running out of bobbleheads over an hour before first pitch.
¡°I got here at 12:30 and they were already out there,¡± Freeman said. ¡°Kind of crazy, but I do appreciate it. I just want to say thank you. This is really cool. Charlie's really excited. ¡ It¡¯s gonna be fun.¡±
And while Freeman¡¯s performance on Friday was unremarkable -- 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a groundout to first base -- he reached first in the bottom of the sixth after getting hit by a sinker that got away from Cubs starter Matthew Boyd. Two pitches later, Freeman trotted around the bases as Tommy Edman hit a three-run bomb that eventually turned out to be the game winner.
Roberts chalks it up to Freeman just getting back into the routine.
¡°Boyd¡¯s a tough pitcher, so it was a tough draw,¡± Roberts said. ¡°... I think it was just his first game back. He does a lot of great things, but this was a tough one. But he¡¯ll be back in there tomorrow.¡±
Los Angeles has been without Freeman since the team's first home series against the Detroit, when he went 3-for-12 with two homers and four RBIs. The day after that series ended, Freeman slipped in the shower at home and aggravated his surgically repaired right ankle, missing the Dodgers' three-game set against the Braves before finally being placed on the IL.
Freeman went into this season knowing that he would have to manage his right ankle, on which he had offseason surgery after playing through a bad sprain during the Dodgers' postseason run. The star first baseman is loath to miss time of any sort, but Roberts said Freeman has grown to understand the value of sitting out now in order to be at his best when the games matter more.
"I would say that if we were to rewind three years ago, he would still be active right now," Roberts said Wednesday, "whereas I think now he understands the short-term gains, the long term. And he'll be the first to tell you that his time on the IL was beneficial."
Freeman admitted as much on Friday, also telling reporters that an MRI had revealed a fraying of his scar tissue.
¡°I feel the best I¡¯ve felt since I got hurt,¡± Freeman said. ¡°Better [than] before the Tigers series, so this was huge. ¡ Hate to say it, but I might¡¯ve needed the 10 days.¡±
Freeman learned that same lesson last postseason, when he was forced to sit out a handful of games in the NL Division and Championship Series. Those rest days, as well as the days off after the NLCS, helped Freeman get in much better shape en route to earning World Series MVP honors.
While the Dodgers were in Philadelphia and Washington, Freeman stayed back in Los Angeles, getting live at-bats against Minor Leaguers on Monday and Wednesday before working on his trajectory on Thursday. Roberts has followed Freeman's progress through his recovery, and the manager believes that while it¡¯s more of a read-and-react situation, the current belief is that Freeman can play every day.
"My thought initially is to run him out there every day, and we've got six days until we get the next off-day, until I hear or see otherwise,¡± Roberts said. ¡°I think that's kind of the thought of getting on the IL. Getting back to close to 100 percent, to then be able to run out there every day."