Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman enters the National League Division Series working through mechanical swing adjustments and recovering from right knee tendinitis, while manager Dave Roberts activates reliever Edgardo Henriquez ahead of Saturday’s playoff opener.
The Dodgers enter the postseason benefiting from five full days of rest during the league’s bye week, giving players time to heal before their quest for a threepeat begins on Saturday. For Freddie Freeman, the break provides a crucial window to address late-season offensive struggles tied to physical wear.
Freddie Freeman Works Through Swing Mechanics During Dodgers Bye Week
Freeman finished the regular season with a .792 OPS, marking his lowest full-season mark since his rookie year in 2011. Over his final 187 plate appearances, he hit just .235/.305/.283 with only one home run, logging a .224 slugging percentage in September with a single extra-base hit. Manager Dave Roberts first noted in early September that Freeman was managing right knee soreness.
Despite patellar tendinitis in his right knee, Freeman rejected physical excuses for his slump during a team Zoom call.
“I’ll never blame anything physical-wise of why I didn’t play well, I just didn’t play well the last couple months of the season. That’s what I’m going to go with. Did I have some ailments of my knees? Yes, I did. I don’t know how much that attributed to subconsciously trying to do stuff. … So maybe I created bad habits. But I won’t blame it on that. I just played bad.”
Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman
Roberts observed that lower-body discomfort forced the eight-time All-Star to alter his approach at the plate. I think that the mechanics have changed because they were compromised because of his right knee
Roberts said on Tuesday. And so now that his right knee is getting back to full health, I think he’s got to recalibrate the swing, and that’s where we’re at.
Batting Practice Adjustments and World Series Stance Alterations
The uninterrupted training schedule allows Freeman to take upwards of 400 swings in the batting cage without the immediate pressure of game results. It’ll be nice to not try and do something in BP and then have to go take that into the game two hours later and see if it works,
Freeman noted.
To fix his mechanics before Saturday, Freeman plans to revisit a batting stance he utilized during the 2024 World Series. Today I am going to kind of get more into my legs and I’m going to try what I used in the World Series in ’24, kind of the step-out where I’m not bending over and cutting off my swing,
he explained. And I’m very confident that that’s going to help get things back in line throughout the course of the week.
Freeman stated that his physical baseline entering this postseason is significantly better than in past years, noting A couple of Octobers ago, [I] probably [felt] 100 times worse.
Edgardo Henriquez Activated From Injured List for Postseason Roster
While Freeman refines his swing, the Dodgers welcomed back right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez. Lower back discomfort sidelined Henriquez on September 13, but Los Angeles activated the reliever from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday.
Roberts indicated that Henriquez would participate in an advanced throwing session, such as a live bullpen or simulated game against hitters. During his first full major league season, Henriquez recorded a 2.85 ERA with a 29.3% strikeout rate and a 10.3% walk rate across 60 innings, backed by a 100.7 mph fastball.
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