The Los Angeles Dodgers grabbed plenty of headlines at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings on Tuesday.
News surfaced that the team had agreed to sign All-Star closer Edwin Diaz to a three-year contract, shoring up the team’s only true weakness with the best relief arm on the market. In typical fashion for the franchise in recent years, the Dodgers have reasserted themselves at the top of the MLB power rankings and now appear poised for a third straight World Series championship.
But in a quieter development on Tuesday, Canada national baseball team director Greg Hamilton revealed that Dodgers’ first baseman Freddie Freeman — who is a staple for the Canadian team in the World Baseball Classic tournament — has suffered an injury setback that could keep him out of the tournament in March and might have some implications for next season as well.
“Freeman (is) dealing with ‘a little bit of a health issue’ after the wear and tear of a long season, per Hamilton, but ‘he does want to (play in the World Baseball Classic), he really wants to play,” according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.
Freeman experienced a few injuries in this past season, including ankle and rib problems that persisted from the 2024 campaign, then a reaggravation of his ankle after slipping in the shower and then a wrist problem after he was hit by a pitch.
It was not immediately clear what kind of health setback the veteran has now endured, but it could reportedly require a medical procedure of some kind.
“(Team Canada manager Ernie) Whitt said Freeman is having ‘some procedure done’ and they will know more later with how he’s feeling,” The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reported.
However, Ardaya added that Dodgers executive Andrew Friedman “didn’t believe Freddie Freeman would require any sort of procedure.”
In any case, news that Freeman is now dealing with a health issue should be unwelcome among Dodgers fans. The health of the team’s aging core might be the only thing that could derail its expectations for a third straight championship.
And the Dodgers would have trouble replacing Freeman, even for a limited time. Dalton Rushing is listed as his backup at first base on the depth chart, but he did not quite meet expectations at the plate after earning his call up with the team in this past season.
Until more is known about Freeman’s health status, though, there appears to be little reason for the Dodgers to panic or for other teams to raise their hopes of dethroning the champions.
