Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman left Sunday’s game when he was again bothered by a bone spur in his right elbow. He won’t travel with the team to Kansas City for two games but is expected to rejoin the Braves in New York on Friday for the final three games of the regular season.
Freeman, who’s dealt with spurs for years, left a game during the team’s last road trip in Washington (Sept. 13) due to irritation in his elbow. Freeman acknowledged the spur has bothered him in recent days and hopes the break and treatment will have him ready for Friday.
“It’s obviously not ideal,” Freeman said. “But it responded pretty good with that off day last week. So we’re going to hope four days off will be the real trick here where I can have no problems in the last weekend of the season and the postseason.”
The Braves have a wonky end-of-season schedule that includes two off days this week. They traveled to Kansas City after Sunday’s loss to the Giants and have Monday off before playing two against the Royals. They’re off again Thursday before finishing the regular season next weekend in New York.
“If we were starting the playoffs tomorrow, he’d be in the lineup,” manager Brian Snitker said of Freeman, who was replaced by Francisco Cervelli in the eighth inning of Sunday’s 4-1 loss to San Francisco. “We don’t need to push that. At times it bites him a little bit. He does treatment and he’s good for an extended period. So it’s nothing worse, probably not as bad as it was last time actually, but it’s enough that if we have some time to let him sit and get it better, than we’ll take it.”
The organization saw logic in Freeman staying back, focusing on his treatment and getting rest rather than travel for two games. Freeman didn’t feel any irritation for “a couple days” after the last time his elbow barked. Sunday’s feeling was the same, he said, but he’s hopeful the rest and treatment will take care of it.
Still, not an issue the Braves want to deal with as the postseason approaches.
“It is frustrating it keeps popping up as quickly as it is right now,” Freeman said. “Hopefully these next four days will make it all go away and I can clear my head and have a nice series to end it before getting ready for the playoffs.”
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