DENVER — As he hobbled throughout the sector at Dodger Stadium to speak to reporters on Thursday evening, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman wore three notable issues.

A strolling boot. A Nationwide League West championship T-shirt. And, most significantly within the wake of his ankle damage in that evening’s division-clinching win, a relieved and grateful smile.

“It’s like a grapefruit,” Freeman stated of the swelling in his sprained, however not damaged, proper ankle. “However they’re fairly optimistic that I ought to have the ability to go by Saturday within the playoffs. That’s what I’m banking on.”

A day later, the Dodgers appeared assured in that chance, as effectively.

When the workforce filed out of its Champagne-soaked clubhouse Thursday and headed to the airport for a late-night flight to Denver, the place they opened their sequence in opposition to the Colorado Rockies with a 11-4 win Friday, Freeman stayed again in Southern California.

Although postgame X-rays on his ankle have been unfavorable, he and the workforce determined it wouldn’t be smart to topic him to 2 flights for a sequence he in all probability wouldn’t have performed in anyway.

As an alternative, Freeman will stay within the Southland this weekend, getting therapy on his damage in hopes of being prepared for the beginning of the Nationwide League Division Collection subsequent Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

“Clearly it’s actually, actually swollen, however they stated as soon as they get the fluid out, I ought to have the ability to go by Saturday,” stated Freeman, who used crutches through the Dodgers’ clubhouse celebration however was strolling with simply the boot later within the evening.

“Luckily sufficient, we have now a while off now to heal this factor,” he added. “I’m optimistic.”

Supervisor Dave Roberts took that optimism one step additional on Friday, saying that he can’t “see any world” the place Freeman isn’t within the lineup for the beginning of the postseason.

“He’s simply such a warrior,” Roberts stated. “And he’s gonna do something he can to put up.”

Freeman’s sprained ankle served as the newest hardship in what has been an arduous season for the 35-year-old slugger.

On the sector, Freeman has had his least productive season in virtually a decade. Whereas his .282 batting common and .854 on-base-plus-slugging share are nonetheless effectively above league common, they’ve represented his worst marks since 2015. His 89 RBIs will mark his second-lowest whole in a full season since 2017. And in current weeks, as he has continued to battle a damaged proper center finger he suffered in August, the left-handed hitter had been visibly annoyed along with his swing, batting simply .241 with 5 extra-base hits in his previous 15 video games.

None of that, nonetheless, has in comparison with the adversity Freeman confronted off the sector.

In late July, his 3-year-old son, Max, was briefly paralyzed by a daunting case of Guillain-Barré syndrome, forcing Freeman to step away from the workforce for eight video games. After spending the final two months in bodily remedy, Max solely started strolling on his personal once more final week — a gratifying milestone for the Freeman household, but additionally a mirrored image of the troublesome journey they’ve confronted through the second half of the Dodgers’ season.

“Each day is healthier and higher for Max and that’s all I can actually ask for,” Freeman stated. “However yeah, the final couple months have been attempting.”

That’s why, despite the fact that he’ll miss the ultimate video games of the common season and need to spend his run-up to the playoff rehabbing his ankle, Freeman was nonetheless upbeat Thursday evening.

“It’s all put in perspective now,” he stated. “Yeah, powerful couple of months. However if you search for and see that [we are] NL West champions and Max is strolling now, issues are OK.”

The identical can seemingly be stated for his sprained ankle, as effectively.