What made Freddie Freeman's World Series MVP performance that much more impressive was that he was playing with a badly injured ankle. It was so bad, in fact, to the point where he could barely run in the NLCS and had to undergo offseason surgery.
Despite that, Freeman says he's "perfectly on track" to begin the 2025 campaign in the middle of the Los Angeles Dodgers order when they begin their season in mid-March.
That news, paired with Freeman's omission from ESPN's ($) David Schoenfield's way-too-early National League All-Star Game roster is a very strange one, and could point to this injury still being an issue in 2025.
Schoenfield has Bryce Harper as the National League's All-Star starter and Matt Olson as the reserve at first base. Both of those players are obviously great, but Freeman being left off feels notable. Here's what Schoenfield had to say about leaving him off of the roster.
"What about Freddie Freeman, who hasn't missed an All-Star Game since 2017? Well, he's now 35 years old, his numbers fell off last season (first time he hit under .295 since 2015 and he declined from 90 extra-base hits to 59) and he was beat up by the World Series, playing through not only the ankle injury that required offseason surgery but also broken cartilage in his rib cage. I'll go with the younger player here."
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Freddie Freeman's omission from way-too-early NL All-Star roster has Dodgers fans concerned
Harper and Olson are outstanding players, but Freeman has been an NL All-Star staple. He's made each of the last six All-Star Games (there was no All-Star Game in 2020) and has made eight appearances in his career. It would be very strange to see an All-Star Game without Freeman involved.
With that being said, though, Schoenfield's reasons as to why Freeman will miss out do make sense. Freeman had his worst season in nearly a decade in terms of OPS (.854), home runs (22), and average (.282). Chances are, with Freeman now 35 years old, he probably won't randomly revert back to MVP form.
Even if Freeman isn't the MVP-caliber player he once was, it's tough to envision him not being All-Star worthy. Even in his down 2024 campaign, he was certainly All-Star worthy, and had he not been badly injured, there was no reason to believe a major downfall was coming. That simple fact raises the question of whether there is something we don't know about this injury. Freeman supposedly being fully on track to play on Opening Day but not being a projected All-Star, while Harper and Olson are good, is strange.