Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided an injury update on infielder Alex Freeland after Saturday’s loss to the Colorado Rockies.
Freeland jammed his thumb in the field Saturday, and promptly exited the game to make way for Alex Call. Despite how the scenario looked, though, Roberts said he took Freeland out due to the presence of a left-hander on the mound the next half-inning, not because of anything physical, per The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya.
Dave Roberts said he pinch-hit for Alex Freeland because of the situation, not anything physical (he’d jammed his thumb a bit). Also said Blake Treinen is ok after getting hit in the head during batting practice. Said the ball “got him flush.”
The infielder clearly has his bearings, as the Dodgers have him starting at second base once again to face the right-handed Michael Lorenzen.
The Dodgers have shown faith in one of their top prospects this season, and have given Freeland the starting job at second base following Mookie Betts’ oblique injury early in the season.
He had a solid first game of the season, hitting a homer and crushing a double in the Dodgers’ Opening Day win, but has since tailed off, and is batting just .196 on the season with three RBIs total.
Freeland has hits in two of his last three games, though, and will hope to continue improving as he looks to prove himself at the top level.
Prior to Betts’ injury, Freeland split time with veteran Miguel Rojas in a platoon at second base.
Now, though, the Dodgers have added Hyeseong Kim into the mix, and Kim—frankly—has outperformed Freeland during his brief time back in MLB.
Kim has an OPS north of .800, and has the same homer and RBI totals as Freeland in less games. If he continues to perform like this, the Dodgers may have to give Kim a second look rather than Freeland.
That being said, the Dodgers have shown plenty of faith in Freeland as the future of their organization, and will hope he can get back on track to maintain his spot with the MLB team.
Both Kim and Freeland will play for the Dodgers in their third game of a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies, batting eighth and ninth, respectively. They’ll hope to turn the lineup over well as LA tries to return to winning ways.
First pitch for the third game of the series comes Sunday at 12:10 p.m. PT.
Do you think Alex Freeland will keep his spot on the team?