LOS ANGELES — The ankle that hampered Freddie Freeman for much of the Dodgers’ postseason run required surgery.
Freeman underwent surgery on that right ankle on Thursday at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles. Dr. Kenneth Jung performed the debridement procedure, removing loose bodies from the joint.
The World Series MVP is expected to be ready to participate fully when the Dodgers open spring training in February.
Freeman suffered a significant ankle sprain and bone bruise on an awkward play at first base against the San Diego Padres on Sept. 26. Freeman was trying to beat out an infield single and avoid a collision with first baseman Luis Arráez and rolled his right ankle.
He missed the final three games of the regular season and went through hours of daily treatment and receiving pain-killing injections in order to be available for the postseason. He also played through a rib injury. He sat out one game during the National League Division Series against the Padres and two games during the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets and went just 7 for 32 (.219) with no extra-base hits in those two rounds of the playoffs.
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Given a week off between Game 5 of the NLCS and Game 1 of the World Series, Freeman’s ankle finally improved. He went 6 for 20 (.300) with four home runs and 12 RBIs during the five World Series games, including the first walk-off grand slam in Series history in Game 1. The 12 RBIs tied the World Series record.
After missing a total of 11 games over the previous six seasons, the 35-year-old Freeman missed time during the regular season with a broken finger, the ankle injury and when his son, Maximus, was hospitalized. He finished with a .282 average and .854 OPS – his lowest since 2015.