Dodgers' Dave Roberts Sends Clear Message to Freddie Freeman After Injury

There were moments — including that one, and when he legged out a triple in Game 1 of the World Series — when the visual agony of watching Freeman threaten to exacerbate a serious injury became excruciating.

This week, with Freeman again trying to play through a quad injury, manager Dave Roberts sent a clear message to his superstar: don't push it.

“My deal with him is that, if you’re going to play today, stay in the game last night, then manage it,” Roberts told reporters, including Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group. “So let’s not go crazy on the bases. … If you’re not giving 110 percent down the line, that’s no problem.”

Freeman gutted it out throughout the 2024 postseason, missing a few games in both the NLDS and NL Championship Series, despite an injury that required four hours of treatment each day.

The Dodgers' situation is not as dire now. They're not comfortably in first place in the National League West, but they're in no danger of missing the postseason with 41 wins in their first 69 games.

Freeman is having a nice season himself, slashing .347/.417/.579 (182 OPS+). His batting average and 21 doubles lead the National League.

More recently, the Dodgers have gotten production from the bottom of a lineup that typically includes Andy Pages, Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim. Thanks to Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, the former MVPs have combined to give the Dodgers a .925 OPS from the 1-2-3 spots in the batting order — by far the highest mark in MLB.

Even if the Dodgers can afford to give Freeman a day off here or there — especially in light of the recent promotion of top prospect Dalton Rushing, who can play first base — that isn't his preference.

Freeman played 159 and 161 games in his first two seasons with the Dodgers, respectively. He only missed time last year because of a family emergency — totaling 147 games in the regular season — and only missed time in the postseason when his injured ankle and rib cage would not allow him to play.

Freeman has played 58 of the 69 games this season for the Dodgers. If he doesn't want to miss another, it might require slowing down a bit on the bases.