LOS ANGELES -- Freddie Freeman hadn't been on the injured list in eight years and didn't want to go on it this year, even while battling an aggravation of the ankle injury that plagued him last October.
He came away grateful for having done so.
"I hate to say it," Freeman admitted, "but I might have needed the 10 days."
The Los Angeles Dodgers activated Freeman off a brief stint on the IL ahead of their series opener against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, the same day the team gave away a bobblehead commemorating his Kirk Gibson-style walk-off home run in the 2024 World Series.
Freeman went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, was hit by a pitch and scored a run in the Dodgers' 3-0 win, his first game since March 29.
"Got on base by way of hit-by-pitch and it was just his first game back," manager Dave Roberts said. "He does a lot of great things, but this was a tough one. He'll be back in there tomorrow."
Freeman spent all of last year's postseason playing through a sprained right ankle that necessitated offseason surgery. The ankle was still causing discomfort as he navigated through spring training. He missed the season-opening two-game series from Japan because of discomfort in his right side -- the other injury that plagued him last fall -- and felt tightness in the ankle toward the end of the ensuing series against the Detroit Tigers from Dodger Stadium. Then, on the morning of March 30, Freeman slipped while stepping into his shower and aggravated the injury.
Freeman missed the three-game series against his former team, the Atlanta Braves, last week, then made the trip to Philadelphia intending to play and was instead placed on the IL. A week later, Freeman said this is "the best I've felt since I've gotten hurt."
Freeman took live batting practice against a Dodgers minor leaguer at the ballpark Monday and Wednesday, then hit against Trajekt, the popular pitching simulator, on Thursday. But the real proof came while doing running exercises and not feeling any hesitation as his right foot hit the bases, a particular source of consternation last October.
"I have no reservations going into this game," Freeman said. "I feel like I can steal a base."
Roberts was playfully asked if Freeman, with 98 stolen bases in his 16-year career, has the green light on the bases moving forward.
"No," Roberts said with a smile. "It's as red as red can be. Fire-engine red."
Only one player, Marcus Semien, played in more regular-season games than Freeman from 2018 to 2024. Throughout his career, Freeman has taken deep pride in being available on a daily basis, no matter what might be nagging him. Relenting to the IL last week was a sign to the Dodgers that he might be more open to the idea as a means of keeping himself healthy for the stretch run of a season.
Freeman doesn't have any off days planned for the foreseeable future but said he will determine the health of his ankle on a "series-by-series" basis. Roberts called it a "read-and-react situation." Freeman is 35, a time when players' bodies begin to wear out. But this, Freeman stressed, has nothing to do with age.
"I rolled my ankle, I tore ligaments on the left side and the right side and chipped off cartilage and had surgery four months ago," he said. "I'm not looking at it as an age thing. I feel like I keep myself in great shape. I feel like I was swinging it pretty good and playing good baseball before I got hurt. I guess you can say age is falling in a bathtub. Maybe that can be it. But I feel good."