TOKYO – Freddie Freeman was going through his normal pregame routine when he felt something painfully familiar.
“Last round of BP, I felt something in my rib, same spot as the playoffs,” Freeman said after he was scratched from the Dodgers’ 4-1 season-opening win on Tuesday.
“Same exact spot.”
The day before the Dodgers opened the 2024 postseason, Freeman suffered torn rib cartilage in his left side. The injury then was much more severe, he said. He fell to the ground in the batting cage that time and had to be helped to his car when he left the stadium.
“I couldn’t walk last year,” he said. “This is not as bad. Absolutely not.
“I tried to play through it. But I got out-ruled on the first day.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, president of baseball operations Andrew Fredman and GM Brandon Gomes did the over-ruling and Freeman was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup.
“As I understand it, it was the same rib that affected him during the postseason,” Roberts said after the game. “Not as severe. I thought we made the right decision not playing him tonight, and we’ll see how he comes in tomorrow. So right now, I’m not too concerned.”
Freeman said he was told by the medical staff that he has a “75 percent chance” of being in the lineup for the second game against the Cubs. According to Freeman, Dr. Neal ElAttrache examined him and said it could be scar tissue from last year’s injury.
“It’s okay. It was probably smart,” Freeman said of sitting out. “Obviously, it’s way better than last year. Last year, I needed help getting to my car that first day. I can walk. I can take deep breaths. Just felt a little something in my rib, and with it being the first game, we didn’t want it to be something lingering.
“So hopefully treat it today, come in tomorrow and see how it is. And if not, I probably won’t push it if I feel anything tomorrow.”