The Los Angeles Dodgers will have to keep their season alive on Wednesday night without first baseman Freddie Freeman’s presence in the starting lineup. The Dodgers scratched Freeman about two hours prior to the first pitch of NLDS Game 4 against the San Diego Padres.
Freeman, 35, sprained his ankle with a week to go in the regular season. Although he had started each of Los Angeles’ first three postseason games, he exited early from both Games 2 and 3. Freeman previously disclosed that he was told the injury had an expected recovery period of more than a month.
“[He’s] in there right now,” manager Dave Roberts said of Freeman’s status prior to Game 4. “But unless something changes as he’s getting ready, I might have to pivot. But right now he’s in there.”
It’s unclear if Freeman will be available off the bench, or if the Dodgers will have to remove him from the roster if the series progresses to a Game 5. Remember, MLB’s rules dictate that any player removed from a round’s roster is ineligible for the subsequent round. That would leave Freeman out of the equation until the World Series.
With Freeman sidelined for at least the start of Game 4, the Dodgers will turn to Max Muncy at first base and veteran utility player Enrique Hernández at the hot corner.
Freeman batted .282/.378/.476 (143 OPS+) with 22 home runs and 89 runs batted in during the regular season. His contributions were worth an estimated 4.7 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations.
The Dodgers trail the Padres in the best-of-five series by a 2-1 margin. A Padres victory on Wednesday would send San Diego onward to the National League Championship Series. It would also send the Dodgers home for the winter.
