Should Braves Be Concerned About Freddie Freeman’s Elbow?
By Deke Lloyd
The Atlanta Braves got a scare yesterday before their Grapefruit League game with Minnesota Twins when it was announced Freddie Freeman was scratched from the lineup due to elbow inflammation. After offseason elbow surgery, and the scratch yesterday, should the Braves be concerned?
Freddie Freeman’s health has been one of the top concerns for the Atlanta Braves as they prepare for the upcoming 2020 season. After dealing with a considerable amount of elbow pain that saw him taking so many painkillers his vision would get blurry, Freeman had offseason surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow when the season ended last October. Fast forward to February, all the reports around Freeman have been about his health and how he’s better than he’s ever felt coming into a season. Then, before yesterday’s Grapefruit League game, it was announced Freeman would be kept out of the game with elbow inflammation. Should the Braves be concerned for their All-Star first baseman?
A lot of Braves fans were on edge after Freeman’s scratch, and rightly so. It’s concerning to hear about how healthy Freddie has been feeling all offseason only to be kept out of his first Spring Training game. However, the Braves management is doing their best to tame the news.
When asked about Freddie Freeman’s timeline to return, Alex Anthopoulos assured that there was no concern about Freeman being ready when the season starts. Brian Snitker and AA said this was all precautionary due to Freeman’s increased activity over the first two weeks of Spring Training. This afternoon, before the game with the Orioles, AA said Freeman would return to the lineup next week to prepare for the fast-approaching season.
Freddie Freeman is expected to return to Braves lineup next week. Anthopoulos reiterated there’s no concern.
— Gabe Burns (@GabeBurnsAJC) February 26, 2020
For now, all we can do is wait to see how Freeman looks when he does return. It’s pretty astounding what Freeman has been able to accomplish over the last few seasons with the amount of pain he was dealing with. It will only be known to Freeman and the team about how much pain he’s dealing with during the season. For Freeman, and the Braves, let’s hope AA is correct in saying there is nothing to worry about. Losing Freeman, or even having him in pain, would be a big blow to the Braves’ aspirations this upcoming season.