Dodgers' Freeman: 'Opening Day is not in doubt' after WBC injury
Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman expects to be ready for Opening Day after injuring his hamstring playing for Canada at the World Baseball Classic.
"No, Opening Day is not in doubt," Freeman said, according to MLB.com's Jesse Borek and Matthew Ritchie. "Took a complete day off, just finished three hours of treatment. If everything goes well, I am shooting for games this weekend at the Cactus League."
Freeman exited Canada's game against Colombia on Tuesday and didn't play in Wednesday's loss to Mexico; that loss officially eliminated Canada from the tournament.
The 2020 National League MVP admitted not playing in such an important game was "a hard thing to do," but he was concerned about worsening a mild hamstring injury if he continued to play.
Freeman finished the WBC with two hits in ten at-bats for a Canadian squad that ended with a 2-2 record. The 33-year-old said he's proud of Canada's performance despite an early exit.
"I apologized to Greg Hamilton, who is one of the coaches," Freeman said. "I feel like I let them down, he obviously reassured me that I didn't. But it was a wonderful week. Canada, we put on a good show - a lot better than 2017. It's tough leaving those guys because they're so many guys who were making such great impressions. To not see it all the way through is hard."
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