Rehab Rush: Dodgers Star Must Accelerate Recovery From Surgery to…

Freddie Freeman had surgery on his right ankle Thursday, which involved debridement and the removal of loose bodies.

The Los Angeles Dodgers released the news Thursday afternoon.

The procedure was conducted by Dr. Kenneth Jung at Kerlan Jobe in Los Angeles. Freeman is expected to be able to participate in baseball activities during spring training.

Freeman struggled with a severe ankle sprain during the playoffs, missing time in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets and clearly limping when he played. After a break between the NLCS and World Series, Freeman had time to rest his ankle and reported feeling better. He went on to hit a historic walk-off grand slam in Game 1 against the New York Yankees.

The first baseman was a force in the World Series, blasting four home runs, driving in 12 runs, and posting an OPS of 1.364. He delivered one of the most memorable moments in MLB history with a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 and was named World Series MVP after his clutch performances throughout the series.

After the Dodgers secured the title, Freeman revealed he also played through a painful rib injury in addition to the ankle.

Freeman is known for his consistency and durability, appearing in 147 games in 2024 and at least 159 games in each of the previous three seasons (2021-23). It has to take a lot for him to miss a game.

“I gave myself to the game, to the field,” Freeman told Jeff Passan in a brutally honest interview. “I did everything I could to get onto that field. And that’s why this is really, really sweet. I’m proud of the fact that I gave everything I could to this team and I left it all out there. That’s all I try to do every single night. When I go home and put my head on that pillow, I ask if I gave everything I had that night. And usually it’s a yes. One hundred percent of the time it’s a yes. But this one was a little bit sweeter because I went through a lot. My teammates appreciated it. The organization appreciated it. And to end it with a championship makes all the trying times before games, what I put myself through to get on the field, worth it.”