Sports
Freddie Freeman returns to action, but will have to manage ankle during first half of season
PHOENIX — He might have only been knocking the rust off. But Freddie Freeman was still less than thrilled.
Facing live pitching for one of the few times all spring this week, Freeman stood at the plate on a nondescript backfield at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch facility and took swing after swing against a couple of minor-leaguers.
Less than three months removed from offseason surgery on his right ankle, the session was a grind.
Several times, Freeman grunted as he rolled soft grounders toward first base. On a lazy pop-up to left, he sarcastically quipped that it “went the other way, at least.” After ending another at-bat with a big swing-and-miss, Freeman simply looked down as he trudged out of the box.
As the live batting practice ended minutes later, Freeman saw Dodgers strength and conditioning coach Travis Smith approaching. Smith, he knew, was there to oversee the baserunning drills that were next on Freeman’s agenda. So, he turned to hitting coach Aaron Bates and cracked a joke.
“I blame Trav,” Freeman deadpanned, loud enough for a Smith to hear. “I was thinking about running.”
Coming off his triumphant World Series and celebratory offseason, this moment was a more appropriate snapshot of the reality Freeman has faced this spring.
After Freeman gutted it out through his badly sprained ankle and broken rib cartilage last October — when his storybook postseason culminated with MVP honors in the World Series and a historic walk-off grand slam in Game 1 — the physical toll the 35-year-old endured finally caught up with him this winter.
In early December, with his ankle still aching more than a month into the offseason, Freeman had an MRI exam that revealed the need for a debridement surgery; cleaning up loose bodies and chipped cartilage that had matriculated to his Achilles’ tendon.
As late as January, manager Dave Roberts said, there was doubt over whether he’d be able to start the 2025 season on time.
“He wasn’t moving very well, wasn’t recovering, still was in a lot of pain,” Roberts said. “Opening Day didn’t even seem feasible.”
Fast-forward two months, however, and Freeman is now fully expecting to be in the lineup when the Dodgers open their season on March 18-19 in Japan against the Chicago Cubs.
His ankle isn’t 100%, and probably won’t be for the first half of the season. But he has progressed to an important point in his recovery, making his Cactus League debut Thursday with a one-for-three performance in a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
“I felt pretty good today,” Freeman said afterward. “Saw the pitches well. Felt like I swung at strikes … Just wanted to swing a lot today. That was my goal, to see where the timing was.”
Freeman still has more boxes to check between now and when the Dodgers leave for Japan in less than two weeks.
He has yet to play the field in a game, limited to designated hitting duties on Thursday. He is continuing to work through a running progress to complete his ankle rehab; his post-BP drills with Smith earlier in the week serving as the latest reminder of the hurdles left to clear.
“It’s good enough,” Freeman quipped when asked if his ankle was 100% yet. “I wish it felt like my left one does.”
That might not happen for a while. Freeman said he will probably have to tape his ankle in games until some point around the All-Star break. He will be a familiar presence in the training room, and might even agree to take an occasional off day early in the campaign — something he has been loath to do during his 15-year career.
“Lower-body injuries are hard to rehab, especially the ankle,” Freeman said. “So I do believe it’s gonna be a lot more treatment-wise than I would like.”
The good news for Freeman is that he’s already starting to feel better about his swing.
On Thursday, he recorded his first hit, a line-drive single to right, after battling back from an 0-and-2 count. He’ll get more chances to collect at-bats over the weekend, planning to DH again on Saturday and potentially return to first base on Sunday.
“I thought he was moving really well,” Roberts said. “Better than I would have expected.”
What wasn’t unexpected: The loud reception Freeman received before his first at-bat, and the “Fredd-ie! Fredd-ie!” chants that followed him as he walked up the clubhouse tunnel after leaving the field.
All offseason, Freeman has experienced such attention; his already substantial popularity skyrocketing in the wake of his playoff heroics last October. Even during trips to the grocery store, he said, fans have approached him to simply say thanks.
“It’s very uncomfortable for me,” Freeman joked with a laugh. “But that’s OK. I appreciate it. I really do. It’s not something you set out for, but taking it in stride. You appreciate what you were able to create for people. I don’t take that for granted.”
Looking ahead to this season, Freeman said he is eager to see the kind of welcome the Dodgers (and the three Japanese stars on the roster) get in Japan during their highly anticipated trip next month.
But it’s the team’s domestic home-opener a week later that he is admittedly most looking forward to — thankful that the ankle he hurt helping the Dodgers win the World Series last year won’t keep him off the field the day they receive their championship rings.
“For me, it’s easy to focus on the now,” Freeman said, “but I can still appreciate last year.”
The Sparks are finally in the win column, but the outcome was in doubt late Friday night.
Behind double-digit scoring from all five starters, the Sparks had by far their best offensive showing of the season, shooting 63.8% during a 99-95 win over the expansion Toronto Tempo.
The Tempo didn’t make things easy, cutting the deficit to two points late and later trailing by just three with 31 seconds remaining and possession of the ball. Marina Mabrey missed a three-point attempt before late Tempo fouls gave the Sparks enough of a cushion to win.
Kelsey Plum nearly claimed a double-double with 27 points and nine assists, while Dearica Hamby had 19 points with seven rebounds and Nneka Ogwumike scored 20 points.
Erica Wheeler, who started in place of Ariel Atkins (concussion), scored 10 points with seven assists and was a plus-16 as the primary ball handler after starting the season two for 16 from the field. That freed up Plum to be in position to score, setting up a much more efficient Sparks offense.
Toronto was shorthanded in the frontcourt without starting center Temi Fagbenle (right shoulder), and the Sparks trio of bigs had a field day with 54 points in the paint.
The Sparks came out firing on Friday, opening with a 17-2 run.
The Tempo went on a 10-0 burst heading into the second quarter but the Sparks countered to maintain momentum and led 46-38 at halftime.
A Wheeler three-pointer early in the third quarter gave the Sparks a 20-point lead. The Tempo cut it to three midway through the fourth while Brittany Sykes (27 points, seven assists) sparked Toronto’s rally. The Tempo put up more shots than the Sparks, 70-58, largely because of a 10-2 offensive-rebounding gap.
Cameron Brink’s 10 points were the only ones provided by the Sparks’ bench, while the Tempo got 42 points from reserves.
Toronto was coming off its first win in franchise history on Wednesday when it defeated Seattle but struggled against a more complete offensive team in the Sparks.
In her return to Los Angeles after winning a national championship with UCLA this spring, Tempo rookie Kiki Rice netted 11 points.
Kate Martin made her Sparks debut as a developmental player with Atkins and Sania Feagin (lower left leg) unavailable and picked up one rebound in six minutes.
The Sparks will face Toronto again on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
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The WNBA season has been in session for about a week, so it is far too early to make assumptions about teams. That doesn’t mean we won’t make them; it’s just too early to really believe it. I lost my first WNBA bet this season, so I’m hoping to avenge that loss here as the Sky take on the Mercury.
The Chicago Sky are one of the most poorly run franchises in basketball. They have had some great names on their team and only one championship to show for it.
Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner shoots over Indiana Fever guard Aerial Powers in the first half at PHX Arena. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)
There really isn’t a clear indication of what is wrong with the franchise, but they’ve never been able to retain their talent. Aside from Kamilla Cardoso, I can’t name a player on this team that they’ve actually drafted. They just seem to get good players and then show them the door.
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Even though they’ve had questionable front office decisions, they seem to have put together a solid team for this season – something I didn’t expect before the season started.
They are 2-0, which is too early to really say they are a good team. I also want to reserve judgment until they face a team with a longer history than last year. The Portland Tempo played their first-ever game against the Sky, and Golden State was good last year, but still is in just their second season of existence.
The Phoenix Mercury are actually considered one of the best franchises in the league. I’m sure there are issues that people have reported, but for the most part, they have good facilities, and people want to play for their team. They made it all the way to the WNBA Finals last season before falling to the Las Vegas Aces. This year, they are looking to restart that journey and see if they can win the last game of the year.
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper dribbles the ball in the second half at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2025. (Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images)
It will need to come with some better play than they’ve shown through three games this year. They are just 1-2 for the year with a 0-1 home record. The lone win was a blowout victory over the Aces (a clear revenge game if we’ve ever seen one). Then they lost the next two games against Golden State and Minnesota. Losing to the Lynx wouldn’t be a problem, but they didn’t have Napheesa Collier, who still has an ankle injury.
I expect the Mercury to make some adjustments for this game. They haven’t looked very crisp to begin the year, but they’ve been strong on offense, averaging 87 points per game.
The Sky are going to keep relying on their offense to do just enough and their defense to lock in. The Sky do have an edge on the interior, so they can get buckets fairly easily down low. I like the over 166.5 in this game.
Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins chases the ball during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 13, 2026. (Bob Kupbens/Imagn Images)
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I also think it is worth betting on Kahleah Copper to go over her point total. Copper had two rough games before she broke out in the last game. Now she has the same sight lines and can attack the bigs from the Sky with her athleticism. Since going to Phoenix, she has scored 29, 7, 16, 25 and 28 points in five games against them.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
Tom Harp has been coaching volleyball at Granada Hills High for so long that few remember he won a City Section championship as a co-head football coach with Darryl Stroh in 1987.
In the 1990s, he turned exclusively to coaching boys’ and girls’ volleyball, winning a combined 15 City titles and making 28 finals appearances. The top-seeded Highlanders will try to deliver a seventh Open Division championship on Saturday when they face West Valley League rival Chatsworth in a 4 p.m. final at Birmingham.
The league rivals split their two West Valley matches, with each going five games. Chatsworth knocked off 17-time champion Palisades in the semifinals. MIT-bound Grant Chang is Chatsworth’s 6-foot-6 powerful outside hitter.
All-City volleyball player RJ Francisco of Granada Hills shows off his hitting skills against Chatsworth.
(Craig Weston)
Granada Hills has RJ Francisco, who had 19 kills in a win over Chatsworth.
The Southern Section Division 1 final is Friday night, with Mira Costa taking on Loyola in a 7:30 p.m. match at Cerritos College.
Regional and state playoffs begin next week.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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