Roberts says sitting Freeman in Game 6 is 'an option'
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is considering keeping ailing first baseman Freddie Freeman out of the lineup for Game 6 of the NLCS.
Freeman's been playing through a severe ankle sprain during the postseason. Roberts said they'll talk about his status for Sunday's contest.
"I'm going to have a conversation with him tomorrow," Roberts told reporters following the Dodgers' Game 5 loss to the New York Mets, per ASAP Sports. "But I do think that his swing is not right. I'm certain it's the ankle. We'll have that conversation, but it's certainly an option to not have him in there for Game 6, yes."
Freeman injured his ankle while trying to avoid a tag at first base during the Dodgers' final regular-season home game. Before the team's playoff run began, he acknowledged the severity of the sprain, saying that doctors told him it would normally require a four-to-six week stint on the injured list.
However, the injury has clearly had an impact on his play. Freeman's hit just .219 (7-for-32) with one RBI and a .461 OPS over 33 plate appearances. All seven of his hits have been singles. He's only completed two games, and he didn't play in Game 2 of the NLDS and Game 4 of the NLCS in order to rest his ankle.
If he does sit out Game 6, the former NL MVP told David Vassegh of AM 570 Los Angeles that he'd be available off the bench as a pinch hitter, as he was during Game 4.
Max Muncy, normally the Dodgers' third baseman, has started at first base when Freeman's sat during this postseason.
The Dodgers hold a 3-2 lead on the Mets in the NLCS.