LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman missed Monday night’s 6-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves after slipping in the shower and hurting his surgically repaired right ankle.
“He had a little mishap entering the shower,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Kind of swelled up a little bit.”
The 2024 World Series MVP got hurt at home last weekend and came to the ballpark on the off day Sunday for treatment. Before the accident, Roberts said Freeman’s ankle “wasn’t 100% but still, obviously the way he swung the bat, in a good spot.”
Freeman is 3-for-12 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs to start the season. He was scratched from the Dodgers’ season-opening game in Tokyo because of left rib discomfort, as well. On Monday, Enrique Hernandez started in place of Freeman, and hit a solo home run in the sixth inning as the Dodgers improved to 6-0.
“He feels he could go out there and play, but just let him kind of recoup today and we’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Roberts said of Freeman. “For the most part, he’s always kicking and screaming [to play].”
Freeman sprained his right ankle on a play at first base in late September and struggled in the first two rounds of the postseason, but it was hardly evident during the World Series. He homered in the first four games and had 12 RBIs as the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games.
Freeman, who had debridement surgery in December to remove loose bodies in the ankle, is hitting .299 with a .939 OPS in 20 games against Atlanta, where he spent his first 12 years in the big leagues. He has 4 homers, 12 RBIs, 4 doubles, a triple and 13 walks in those games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
