LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman expects to be restricted coming into Spring Coaching as he continues his rehab from proper ankle surgical procedure, however he believes he ought to be on monitor to play within the season-opening Tokyo Sequence.
The Dodgers’ star first baseman underwent a process consisting of debridement and the elimination of free our bodies from his proper ankle in early December. Freeman sprained his ankle on Sept. 25 and missed the final three video games of the common season, then performed by the harm within the postseason.
Eight weeks after the process, he was capable of hit for the primary time. Whereas Freeman thinks he’ll be able to go as a hitter by the point Spring Coaching begins, he hasn’t been cleared to run but.
“I feel by the point I get to Spring Coaching … I ought to be in all probability full-bore hitting-wise, like taking batting follow with the blokes, having the ability to do dwell BPs,” Freeman mentioned on Saturday at DodgerFest. “However I don’t assume I might be within the video games at the start.”
Dodgers pitchers and catchers report back to Camelback Ranch on Feb. 11, and the primary full-squad exercise is scheduled for Feb. 15.
Freeman mentioned he’s on monitor to start a working development when he arrives at Spring Coaching, which ought to push again his timeline to look in Cactus League video games. The Dodgers open their spring slate in opposition to the Cubs on Feb. 20.
Through the first two rounds of the Dodgers’ 2024 postseason run, Freeman was clearly enjoying by a variety of ache. He missed two video games within the NL Championship Sequence, then had sufficient time to relaxation his ankle earlier than the World Sequence.
By that time, Freeman mentioned he was feeling significantly better, and he figured that bodily remedy and relaxation could be all he wanted to get again to full well being. However round Thanksgiving, there was nonetheless swelling in his ankle, and imaging revealed that he wanted surgical procedure.
“Once they went in, they didn’t know in the event that they had been going to need to restore a few of the ligaments, as a result of I had torn a few of my ligaments, as effectively, in my ankle,” Freeman mentioned. “It was fairly a nasty harm I had. Fortunately, in these 4 weeks, the ligaments and tendons had healed sufficient the place they didn’t have to repair my tendons and ligaments.”
After hitting for the primary time since his surgical procedure within the two days main as much as DodgerFest, Freeman mentioned he feels good and has recovered effectively. He’s additionally glad to be again in motion — whereas he mentioned he usually takes a good period of time off from swinging within the offseason, he began to really feel “antsy” round mid-January, when he nonetheless had not taken any swings.
For the second straight 12 months, the Dodgers have an abridged Spring Coaching as a result of they’re enjoying overseas to open the season. This 12 months, they’ll play two in opposition to the Cubs in Tokyo, Japan, from March 18-19.
