by Cary Osborne
Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman both left the 2024 World Series as champions. But they also left it banged up.
Ohtani and Freeman both underwent offseason surgery — Ohtani to his left shoulder on Nov. 5 and Freeman to his ankle on Dec. 5. Both said at DodgerFest on Saturday at Dodger Stadium that they were moving in a positive direction with the Dodgers’ first full-squad workout at Spring Training two weeks away.
“As of now, it seems like I’m on schedule,” Ohtani said. “I’ve been able to work out every day. And I’m really looking forward to being on time to Spring Training and the season.”
Ohtani will get back on the mound in Major League games in 2025 after not pitching in 2024 while he recovered from right elbow surgery. Manager Dave Roberts has laid out the expectation that Ohtani will not pitch in the season-opening Tokyo Series against the Cubs on March 18 and 19. Ohtani said he’ll get a better indication of his own readiness to pitch in Spring Training.
“I think the biggest determinant is going to be when I first pitch my bullpen. Then I think we’re going to really get a feel for when I’ll be able to be on a big league mound,” Ohtani said.
Freeman thought he was going to avoid surgery this offseason after playing throughout the postseason on a badly sprained right ankle with torn ligaments. But he continued to have swelling deep into November and got the ankle checked. An MRI revealed the need for surgery to clean up chipped cartilage that floated down to his Achilles tendon area and shave down some bone spurs.
Freeman said he doesn’t usually hit until after the first of the year each offseason. He began to hit two days ago. He hasn’t been cleared to run.
“I think by the time I get to Spring Training … I should be probably full bore hitting-wise — taking batting practice with the guys, being able to do live BPs,” Freeman said. “But I don’t think I will be in the games at the beginning.”
Freeman said he believes he is on track to be ready for Opening Day in Japan.
Other Dodgers coming back from 2024 injuries reported positives.
Tyler Glasnow, who missed all of September and the entire postseason with a sprained right elbow, said he has been throwing bullpens.
“I feel as good as I’ve ever felt,” Glasnow said.
Tony Gonsolin, who had Tommy John surgery in August 2023 and made a late run in 2024 to return to the Dodgers, said he’s in a really good spot.
“I was pleased with where I was at the end of last year,” Gonsolin said. “I thought I could compete back at the Major League level. And it didn’t work out, didn’t get to come back fully, but I think it all worked out in the end. The fact that I got to have a normal offseason — taking a little break, then coming back and feeling as normal as possible — it felt really good.”
Emmet Sheehan, who had season-ending Tommy John surgery last May — after he had a breakout rookie season in 2023 — said he’s been throwing in Arizona and has May/June targeted to begin pitching in rehab games.
The Dodgers are 10 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. But there has already been a large contingent of Dodgers working out at the facility.
Among them are new Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell, outfielder Michael Conforto and infielder Hyeseong Kim.
For Snell, that’s a big change from last year. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was still unsigned at this time in 2024. The free agent ended up inking a deal with the San Francisco Giants on March 18, 2024, and the domino effect was a difficult start to the regular season, which included a groin injury.
“The rushed Spring is very difficult, and I learned that, and I’m very appreciative that I went through that. It taught me a lot about myself,” Snell said. “And now being able to be out to spring three weeks early, four weeks early, whatever it was, it allows me to go at my pace and make sure that I’m 100% ready when Spring (Training) does start.”
Dodger health trending in right direction heading into Spring Training was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.