Dodgers Announce Major Freddie Freeman Decision on Tuesday

Freddie Freeman is back in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting lineup Tuesday night after sitting out Monday’s series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.

The 37-year-old first baseman is slated to bat second and play first base as the Dodgers continue a four-game set at Great American Ball Park.

Los Angeles already won the first game of the series, 4-1, on Monday. That victory also secured a record-tying 14th consecutive playoff berth for the two-time defending World Series champions.

Freeman has been dealing with lingering soreness in his right knee, which he has described as patellar tendinitis. He has now sat out three of the last five games while the club tries to keep him as healthy as possible for October.

Manager Dave Roberts said an injured-list stint is not on the table at this point.

“I just think right now, with where we’re at in the season, an IL is not an option in the sense of — I personally don’t think we have a better option,” Roberts said. “I don’t think it needs to be 10 days. But could it be more than one? That’s a fair question.”

Roberts said he still planned to talk through the next steps with the training staff and with Freeman.

“I’ve got to kind of talk to the training staff, Freddie, and ultimately make that decision. But I don’t think IL makes sense.”

The extra rest has not yet shown up in Freeman’s recent numbers. He has gone hitless in his last four games played, finishing 0-for-15 with four strikeouts.

Over a slightly longer stretch he is 3-for-30 with nine strikeouts. In September he is hitting .100 with only one extra-base hit.

For the full season Freeman is still batting .293 with 16 home runs and 66 RBIs in 142 games. His on-base plus slugging percentage sits at .818.

Freeman marked his 37th birthday over the weekend and has insisted the knee problem is nothing new for him.

“You shouldn’t be worried. I feel much better. Night and day better,” he said last Saturday after missing two games. “I’ve had it before many times, same knee.”

That right knee is a big part of how he hits. Freeman drives off his front side, and when the joint is sore his swing can get loopy instead of compact. The power has faded as a result, with only one homer in his last 55 games.

Roberts has said the plan is to keep picking spots to give Freeman a day off so he can be closer to full strength when the postseason arrives.

“I think it’s one of those things where we’ve got to manage it, and when I say that, it’s probably, just pick spots to give him an off day here or there, because again, we’ve just got to make sure he’s at optimal health when we finish the season.”

The Dodgers are 91-59 and own a nine-game lead in the National League West. Their magic number to clinch a fifth straight division title is three. They also remain in the mix for a first-round bye, sitting a few games behind Milwaukee for the top seed in the National League.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to start Tuesday. The batting order listed Josue De Paula as the designated hitter, followed by Freeman, Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker, Teoscar Hernández, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman, Hunter Feduccia and Alex Freeland.

De Paula is one of the club’s top young hitters and has been mixed into the lineup while veterans get extra rest. The Dodgers have two more games in Cincinnati after Tuesday before returning home to face the San Francisco Giants.

How often Freeman plays over the next week will depend on how the knee feels after each start. The club has made it clear it would rather miss a few regular-season games now than have its first baseman grinding through October with the same problem.

Los Angeles has already punched its ticket to October. The bigger question is whether Freeman can get his swing back in time to help the Dodgers chase a third straight World Series title.