The Los Angeles Dodgers head into Game 4 of the NLCS against the New York Mets with a 2-1 series lead Thursday. We know the series has to go at least five games, which means the Dodgers were hoping for Freddie Freeman to make it through three straight games without a day off.
That won't happen. The lineup for Game 4 is now out and Freeman isn't in it. Max Muncy slides over to first with Enrique Hernández moving in to third and Andy Pages takes over in center.
In watching Freeman play throughout the playoffs, that seems like it has been a grind. Thanks to a sprained right ankle, he's hobbling around the bases and looking awkward at first base. The pain is obvious just from watching on TV. You have to give him credit, obviously, for toughing it out. He'd get paid the same whether he played or not and he already has a World Series ring. This is simply a case of a guy gutting through an injury because he wants to help his team win. Kudos are deserved.
"I think he's doing a great job mentally, trying to stay positive," manager Dave Roberts said before Game 3. "Although, it's pretty frustrating at times that he can't get out of the woods as far as kind of getting over the hump because he's playing a lot, but the swelling has dissipated much more than it was a couple days ago."
Seemingly, Roberts and/or Freeman didn't like what they were seeing heading into Game 4.
From the Dodgers' perspective, they had to be ready to pivot away from Freeman whenever needed. They understandably don't want to take his bat out of the lineup: he's hitting just .259 with no extra-base hits, but it's only been seven games and he's a very capable batsmith even without his power.
The Dodgers also can't really use him at designated hitter. That spot is occupied by the best hitter in the league in Shohei Ohtani. Naturally, the mind wanders to the possibility of Ohtani handling first base. He's working his way back from major elbow surgery, but he's already been long tossing and throwing off the mound. Surely he can just flip the ball from first base if need be and otherwise just not throw it hard anywhere, right? Bryce Harper did it in his own return from Tommy John surgery when the Phillies wanted to get his bat in the lineup as soon as possible.
"Shohei won't play the field," Roberts said without equivocation Wednesday.
Asked about Freeman playing three straight days in the field, Roberts said the plan was "just trying to get through this day and then kind of see how the next days look for Freddie."
"I don't want to get into the thought of him playing three days or not playing," he said. "That gets a little daunting, I think, in everyone's head. My message to him is let's just focus on today."
As it turns out, it must've been too daunting.
The Dodgers' lineup for Game 4 is obviously a weaker look without Freeman's bat in there, but he's compromised and they are two games away from the World Series without any extra-base hits from him.
Let's also keep in mind that Freeman now becomes available as a pinch hitter if a high-leverage situation against a right-handed relievers pops up late in the game.
All this is to say that it's a situation worth monitoring, but not something the Dodgers are ill-equipped to overcome.
