Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman underwent surgery on his right ankle on Thursday and is “expected to be able to participate in baseball activities” by the time spring training begins, according to a team statement.
The phrasing suggests Freeman may not be fully ready for spring training and could initially be limited to light activities such as throwing and hitting off a tee. However, he has until March 18—when the regular season kicks off with a two-game series against the Cubs in Japan—to recover. The Dodgers’ home opener follows on March 27.
Freeman injured his right ankle during the final week of the regular season, which significantly impacted his performance in the playoffs. He struggled through the NLDS and NLCS without recording an extra-base hit in nearly a month and a home run in well over a month. In the NLCS, he went just 1-for-15 in Games 2, 3, and 5 and missed Games 4 and 6 entirely.
In Game 1 of the World Series, however, Freeman turned things around dramatically, delivering a performance for the ages. Early in the game, he ripped a triple, and later, he etched his name in history by smashing the first-ever walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
Freeman continued his historic tear throughout the World Series, homering in each of the first four games and driving in at least one run in all five games. He finished the series with a .300 batting average (6-for-20), a triple, four home runs, and 12 RBIs, earning him the well-deserved honor of World Series MVP.
Freeman, who underwent a procedure to debride his ankle and remove loose bodies, now enters his age-35 season. This marks the fourth year of his six-year, $162 million contract with the Dodgers. During the regular season last year, Freeman posted a solid .282/.378/.476 slash line (143 OPS+), racking up 35 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs, 89 RBIs, 81 runs, and 4.7 WAR.
