Under The Knife 3/19/25

Not Just Dodgers, Just Mostly

There’s real baseball happening, the Dodgers are 2-0, and we saw why the defending world champion could repeat, or implode, largely on the strength of its pitching. Honestly, this series probably didn’t tell us anything we didn’t know, gave us a look at the absolute unhittableness of Roki Sasaki, and showed that injuries might just decide the whole season. It’s baseball, it’s good, and it’s back, so let’s get to some injuries while the Cubs and Dodgers head back to Arizona for a few more fake games before we really get going:

FREDDIE FREEMAN, 1B LAD (strained oblique)

Freddie Freeman didn’t make it to the first real game, but it appears the fact that this one takes place early and took place in Japan made the team more cautious than they would be. The fact that Freeman felt something in his side, identical to the oblique strain he fought through last October, is not a great sign however. This should be long since healed, unless it’s a symptom rather than the cause. This could be a mobility issue as much as a muscular one.

Freeman was held out of both games in Japan as a precaution and while I don’t have any non-public details, it’s very clear from the language that this is the team playing the long game. They have a longer roster, travel and time issues, and no incentive to risk Freeman (or anyone) despite the games counting and some time to heal him up ahead of the season. Expect the team to be cautious with this as they try to dig into the root cause, whether this is lingering, and how willing they are to sit Freeman out for a few weeks to save a few months.

One note here is that one of the most confounding variables of baseball sports medicine and sports science is the travel. While we know it exists and it’s theoretically even, the effects are not. Some people are affected by it more and the effects differ from trip to trip. Teams have done some minor things, like staying in the same hotels and getting concessions like very similar rooms and beds. There’s tech to help, but players resist some of this despite the known problems. Injuries on trips are always slightly harder to deal with. You ever go to someone’s house and not know where things are, even something simple like where the coffee mugs are kept? That’s what it’s like for Athletic Trainers even when they travel with gear.