World Series hero Freddie Freeman said this week that things are trending in the right direction for the Dodgers’ season opener in Japan.
The world champions’ first baseman underwent offseason surgery on the injured ankle he sprained late last season. He has been a limited participant in Spring Training activities, which began over the weekend at Camelback Ranch.
“I’m on the right track to be ready for Tokyo,” Freeman said. “It feels good. I’m almost a full player, right now.”
Freeman said he’s working out on a treadmill, field ground balls hit at him and hit.
“I can do all my stuff, except the running part,” Freeman said.
The World Series champion Dodgers open the season in the Tokyo Series March 18 and 19. Freeman will likely miss some early games in the Cactus League.
“We’ll manage it in Spring Training,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But we saw that leg-out triple against the Padres in the Division Series, so once he’s playing, he sort of does his thing.”
The Dodgers superstar, Shohei Ohtani, got his first reps of pitching in spring training attracting a surprisingly large crowd, according to team manager Dave Roberts. Olivia Garvey reports for the NBC4 Sports Desk on Feb. 15, 2025.
Freeman said he’s eager to start the season with a team largely intact from last year. The Dodgers also made some big-name additions in the offseason, signing 23-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki and lefty Blake Snell.
The team is looking forward to the possible return of NL MVP Shohei Ohtani to the mound. The two-way player did not pitch last year after elbow surgery, but threw his first bullpen of spring training on Saturday.
“It is special,” Freeman said. “When we signed Shohei and (Yoshinobu Yamamoto) last year, and you spend all that money, and for us to go and win the championship, and then they go and do the same thing again. It’s special to be part of. That’s what you want to be a part of in any job, where ownership is always trying to get better.”