Star first baseman Freddie Freeman got here out of the Dodgers’ recreation in opposition to the Cardinals yesterday attributable to what was on the time termed a jammed finger, however regardless of preliminary x-rays coming again adverse the state of affairs has worsened in a single day. The 34-year-old is out of the lineup in the present day and, as famous by Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Instances, will not be in a position to grip a bat attributable to swelling in response to Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts. Freeman continues to be thought of day-to-day for the second however is scheduled to bear a CT scan tomorrow.
The lack of Freeman can be a devastating blow for a Dodgers membership that has had its trio of famous person hitters again on the roster collectively for simply six video games since Mookie Betts returned from the injured checklist to rejoin Freeman and Shohei Ohtani on the high of the lineup final week. Even with Betts having just lately returned, nevertheless, the lack of Freeman’s .292/.391/.488 slash line is bound to be a significant blow to the Dodgers’ offense for nevertheless lengthy he’s out of motion. With the Padres and Diamondbacks simply two and three video games again of L.A. for the NL West title respectively, a prolonged absence for Freeman may imply that the Dodgers are with out certainly one of their finest hitters for a good portion of a pennant race that would find yourself taking place to the wire.
Thankfully for the Dodgers, reinforcements for the lineup seem like simply across the nook. DiGiovanna notes that the membership is anticipated to activate infielder Tommy Edman from the injured checklist tomorrow, and will do the identical with Muncy regardless of him beforehand not being anticipated to be added to the roster till later within the week. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya provides that, per Roberts, the membership will activate Muncy both tomorrow or on Tuesday, and that the infielder is flying into L.A. to verify he’s obtainable tomorrow if wanted.
Edman, 29, gained’t assist the membership’s state of affairs at first base very a lot, however the versatile switch-hitter ought to enhance the lineup in different areas. He’s beforehand been anticipated to play heart discipline for the membership regularly, but it surely’s attainable that he may see further time on the infield given the small-sample success Kevin Kiermaier has had with the membership since being acquired from the Blue Jays on the day of the commerce deadline. If Edman, Miguel Rojas, and Kiké Hernández can cowl the left aspect of the infield whereas Gavin Lux handles second base, that will permit Muncy to behave because the membership’s common first baseman upon his return till Freeman is able to return to the lineup.
The 33-year-old Muncy has been out of motion since mid-Could attributable to an indirect subject however was off to a robust begin when wholesome sufficient to play with a .223/.323/.475 slash line throughout 40 video games that’s good for a wRC+ of 117, matching his 2023 efficiency. Edman, in the meantime, has not performed within the majors this yr attributable to a prolonged rehab from offseason wrist surgical procedure however was acquired by the Dodgers from the Cardinals in a three-way commerce with the White Sox previous to the deadline final month and sports activities a prolonged observe document as a roughly league common bat with wonderful protection at a number of positions that can certainly make him an asset to the Dodgers as soon as wholesome.