THE Dodgers don’t begin their quest for a three-peat until the start of the NLDS on Saturday, and the veteran team gets a full five days off. Freddie Freeman told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other media outlets that he loves hanging out “really working on my swing mechanics, and my knee is in a good place where I feel like I’ll be able to do it.” Freeman hit just .235/.305/.283 with one homer over his final 187 regular-season plate appearances, as patellar tendinitis in the first baseman’s right knee apparently took a toll on his production. Rather than pointing directly to knee discomfort, Freeman admitted that “maybe I created bad habits, but I won’t blame him for that. I just played badly.”
Lower back discomfort persisted Edgardo Henriquez has been pitching since September 13, but Los Angeles activated the right-hander from the 15-day injured list today and it appears the reliever will make the NLDS roster. Manager Dave Roberts told Plunkett and company that Henriquez would likely have an advanced pitching session on Wednesday, either.another live game (bullpen) or sim for some hitters.” In his first full big league season, Henriquez rode his fastball to 100.7 mph to achieve a 2.85 ERA, 29.3% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate over 60 innings.
More injury updates from two more NL playoff clubs…
- Bryce Elder was expected to miss 3-4 weeks after undergoing minor surgery to remove bone chips from his right knee on September 8. So it was no surprise that Elder wasn’t included on the list. Brave‘ Wild Card Series roster, but the right-hander faced four batters during a live batting practice session Monday. Elder told Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he feels good about the rehab process so far, but is unsure when he will be available to pitch. “We kind of have a checklist of things that I need to do, and if the checklist is too long to go back to, then I won’t be able to go.” Elder said. The Braves’ Game 1 win over the Phillies today moved Atlanta a big step closer to advancing to face the Dodgers in the NLDS, but it remains to be seen if Elder will even be an option by Saturday.
- As the Brewers use their bye week to rest and prepare, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy has some updates on the health of the Crew’s camp. Andrew Vaughn is participating in full baseball activities and is expected to be ready to play Saturday, after flu-like symptoms kept him on the IL since September 22. Joey Ortiz is only a limited participant, as the Brewers are giving Ortiz some rest to heal some nagging injuries. Perhaps most intriguing, Brandon Woodruff is awaiting word from Dr. Keith Meister about possibly throwing from a mound, as Woodruff has now completed a five-week throwing progression. It looked like Woodruff’s season was over after shoulder surgery in July, but he got the green light to start pitching near the end of August, as Woodruff still has a faint hope of pitching if Milwaukee makes a deep playoff run.
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