LOS ANGELES — Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman suspected it might end up this way and his hunch was confirmed when he was held out for Wednesday’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves.
After aggravating his surgically repaired right ankle in a shower mishap on Sunday, Freeman was not in the starting lineup for any of the three games against his former team. It was the fifth time in eight games the veteran did not make a start this season.
“He was going to play and then … Freddie’s not going to play,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “He went through a workout and we just felt another day would be most beneficial.”
One concern for the Dodgers was Freeman aggravating the ankle injury and potentially getting on a 5-hour flight to Philadelphia on Thursday with a swollen ankle.
“He is playable but the potential downside of playing, I don’t think anybody knows,” Roberts said. “But to take an extra day, with the off day, just made the most sense.”
After he was held out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Braves, Freeman said he intended to play Wednesday but thought the club might have different ideas.
“I want to be in every game. I think that we all know that,” Freeman said. “But thankfully, it kind of works. We got a lot of guys rotating at-bats. … I want to be out there every game, but we’re not losing that much. The boys are playing really good right now. So I think the main thing is getting me healthy so I can make it through the rest of the year.”
Roberts admitted that it wasn’t easy to sell the World Series MVP on the idea of another game off but with the calendar in early April and the team off to a hot start, he had the bigger picture in mind.
“He plays every day because in his mind, if he can play, he should play,” Roberts said. “But when you look at it from our side of things, yes that is true, but what potential downside could we take on? And it’s not worth it at this point in time.”
SPEED FACTOR
In a trade of minor-leaguers, the Dodgers sent right-hander Carlos Duran to the A’s in exchange for outfielder Esteury Ruiz. One of the fastest players in professional baseball, Ruiz, 26, will report to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Right-hander Kyle Hurt, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, was moved to the 60-day injured list in order to clear a 40-man roster spot.
Originally signed by the Kansas City Royals in 2015, Ruiz has bounced from the Royals to the San Diego Padres to the Milwaukee Brewers and the A’s before joining the Dodgers’ organization. He was part of the trade that sent Josh Hader to the Padres in 2022.
The Dominican Republic native played 17 games with the Brewers and Padres in 2022 but stuck with the A’s for 112 games in 2023, leading the American League with 67 stolen bases (second in the majors to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 73) while batting .254 with a .654 OPS.
He hit just .200 in 29 games with the A’s last season, spending most of the year in Triple-A and not playing after May due to a wrist injury. He didn’t make the A’s roster out of spring training this year and played just two games for Triple-A Las Vegas before he was designated for assignment when the A’s needed a roster spot for left-hander Angel Perdomo, claimed on waivers from the Angels.
“I know that he’s a plus runner, a really astute baserunner and outfielder,” Roberts said. “… And I just think there’s some things that our hitting guys felt there was some upside potentially.”
Duran, meanwhile, is a 23-year-old right-hander signed by the Dodgers in 2018. He made one start for OKC this season, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight in 4⅓ innings.
ROTATION SPIN
Even with an off day Thursday, the Dodgers will keep their rotation in order as they enter their first domestic road series this weekend at Philadelphia.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Friday against the Phillies and Roki Sasaki will take the mound Saturday. Tyler Glasnow will pitch in the series finale on Sunday.
For Sasaki, he will be getting back on the mound since a home outing last Saturday against the Detroit Tigers when he needed 61 pitches to record five outs and gave up two runs on three hits and four walks in his 1⅔ innings. He threw just 32 of his 61 pitches for strikes.
After he was removed from the game, the 23-year-old Sasaki appeared close to tears as he watched the game proceed from the dugout railing.
“I want him to continue to stay out there and stay visible,” Roberts said. “He’s not used to having some struggles and I think that this is an opportunity to fight back, answer back. He did that (Wednesday) because what I heard, he had a great bullpen session. I appreciate the fact that he went back to work and he will be ready to go on Saturday.”
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 1-0, 2.70 ERA) at Phillies (TBD), Friday, 3:45 p.m. PT, Apple TV+, 570 AM
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