SAN FRANCISCO – Freddie Freeman has tried all of his usual slump-buster tactics.
There is the net drill he has been doing since he was a kid – with a BP screen in front of him, he focuses on hitting the ball back through the space created. He has taken batting practice on the field (a break from his usual routine of hitting three times, all in the cage). He even consented to a day off.
He thought he might have discovered the answer recently when the team’s hitting analytics showed his back foot had drifted too far open (more than eight degrees) in his stance and his front foot was also opening up too much. The combination, he hoped, was the reason his swing hadn’t felt right in weeks.
But the longest slump of his career just keeps getting longer.
At the end of May, the 35-year-old Freeman was leading the National League with a .374 batting average. In his 36 games since then, though, he is 27 for 138 (.196) with a dropoff in power (one home run and a .261 slugging percentage).
But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Freeman’s prolonged slump is “not concerning.” Freeman doubled in his first at-bat Saturday to justify his manager’s faith in him — but he finished 1 for 4 in the game and is 12 for 63 (.190) over the past 15 games.
“I mean, it doesn’t feel good for anyone, but he’s just too good of a hitter, competes too well, prepares too well, that it will turn,” Roberts said before the game. “So it’s not something where I feel that there’s markers that he’s not going to come out of it. So I’m not too concerned. It doesn’t feel great right now, but not overly concerned.”
There are some concerning markers, however. Even with his hot April and May figured in, Freeman is walking less than he has since 2011 (his first full season in the big leagues) and striking out more frequently than he has since 2016. Over 15 games before Saturday, it had intensified – 21 strikeouts in 63 at-bats with just five walks. His chase rate (the number of pitches outside the strike zone that he swings at) is the highest it has been since 2018 and his contact rate the lowest since 2016.
“I think the swing-and-miss. I think the chase. I think that when there’s balls in the hitting zone, kind of not squaring it up the way he usually does – those are things that are signs that he’s just not right,” Roberts said. “We all know that. We see it. But he’s just too good of a player not to come out of it.”
BONDS DAY
The San Francisco Giants celebrated former slugger Barry Bonds Saturday with a bobblehead giveaway, ceremonial first pitch and video tribute.
Roberts was Bonds’ teammate during Bonds’ final season (2007) and was asked to compare the all-time home run leader and seven-time MVP with the Dodgers’ current star and three-time MVP, Shohei Ohtani.
“I think that they’re in the top of their field as far as hitters,” Roberts said. “Barry just had a shorter swing. I think that, if you’re talking about slug, it’s very comparable. But Barry was just, to be quite frank, Barry’s the best hitter I’ve ever seen. To be able to hit .300-something every year, to get on base the way he got on base, to be able to swing the bat three times a week and hit three homers, it will never happen again.
“But in today’s game, you’re talking about (Aaron) Judge and Shohei as kind of the guys. But Barry, for me, is in a class by himself.”
MAY BREAK
Right-hander Dustin May has blown past his career-high in innings already this year in his comeback season following two elbow surgeries. Roberts said the team has already talked about giving May a break at some point this season to temper his workload.
That could mean a move to the bullpen when Blake Snell rejoins the rotation. But Roberts said May will stay in the rotation following the All-Star break.
“I think right now, he’s going to stay in the same role as a starter when we start the second half,” Roberts said. “I know that Dustin’s talked about it, we’ve talked about, at some point in time, giving him a little respite. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen – when and if it’s going to happen.
“The consistency of length has been good, but yeah, I think also there’s still got to be a performance part, too, right? … That’s something we’re going to keep being mindful of. But I think him as a starter is how we’re going to start the second half.”
May’s 94 ⅓ innings are second on the team behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But it comes with a 4.96 ERA and 1.35 WHIP.
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 8-7, 2.77 ERA) at Giants (LHP Robbie Ray, 9-3, 2.63 ERA), Sunday, 1:05 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM