Freddie Freeman works through injuries during Dodgers' bye week to fix his swing

Freddie Freeman is using the Dodgers' bye week to work through his injuries and address what has been a difficult September at the plate, MLB.com's Courtney Hollmon reported.

What happened

Per Hollmon's report for MLB.com, Freeman is working through his physical issues during Los Angeles's bye week while simultaneously trying to improve a swing that has given him trouble this month. The bye week represents a window — however brief — to address both the body and the mechanics before the postseason begins.

The timing matters. Earlier reporting had established that Freeman has been playing through patellar tendinitis in his right knee, a condition that has coincided with a notable power outage as the Dodgers entered the postseason picture. The bye week, then, is less a vacation than a working session: rest where possible, repair what can be repaired, and find whatever was lost in September before the calendar flips to October baseball.

Why it matters

Freeman is the Dodgers' first baseman and one of the central figures in a lineup that finished the regular season at 100-62. When a cornerstone hitter describes a rough September, the front office and coaching staff pay attention — not because one month defines a career, but because the postseason does not offer the luxury of a gradual correction. There are no off-days built into a best-of-five series to let a swing find itself organically.

The patellar tendinitis context, reported earlier in the week, adds a layer of operational complexity. Swing mechanics and physical health are not always separable problems. A hitter managing discomfort in his knee adjusts his load, his stride, his weight transfer — sometimes consciously, sometimes not. Whether Freeman's September struggles trace back to the tendinitis, to something mechanical, or to some combination of both remains, per the available reporting, unresolved. What is reported is that he is actively working on it.

He is not alone in using the bye week as a tune-up. Shohei Ohtani, per separate reporting, said he is feeling great physically and will continue hitting through the break before the NLDS. The Dodgers, it seems, are treating the bye week less like a pause and more like a final prep session — which, given what is at stake, is exactly what you would expect from a 100-win club.

Where the club stands

Los Angeles sits at 100-62 (.617), first in the NL West, riding a three-game winning streak into the bye. Their next scheduled games are Saturday, October 3, and Sunday, October 4, at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium — both against either Atlanta or Philadelphia, depending on how the wild-card round resolves.

That opponent uncertainty is its own kind of preparation challenge. The Dodgers know they are hosting the NLDS. They do not yet know who is walking through the door. What they do know is that their roster has some meaningful health questions to sort out before the series begins.

The 100-win mark carries its own weight here. Dave Roberts, per reporting from earlier this week, tied the all-time MLB record with his sixth 100-win season as a manager — all six coming with Los Angeles. The organization Freeman is trying to get right for is one that has made winning at this level a structural expectation rather than a pleasant surprise. Getting their first baseman right before Saturday would make a strong hand considerably stronger.

The bullpen situation is the most concrete of the roster concerns heading into October. Blake Treinen injured his shoulder warming up and is not expected to play in the postseason, per earlier reporting — a significant loss for a relief corps that will be asked to protect leads in a short series. On the rotation side, Blake Snell made what was described as a solid final regular-season start after returning from a groin injury, signaling readiness for October. Freeman's status is the outstanding question on the position-player side.

What we don't know yet

Hollmon's report describes Freeman working through injuries — plural — without specifying what those injuries are beyond the previously reported patellar tendinitis. Whether there are additional physical concerns, how significant they are, and what the Dodgers' medical staff expects heading into the NLDS are all details that have not been reported.

Equally unresolved is the question of what, specifically, went wrong with Freeman's swing in September. The report establishes that it was rough and that he is working to correct it. It does not characterize the mechanical issue, identify when it began, or offer a timeline for when Freeman or the coaching staff expects it to be addressed.

What to watch

### Is Freeman expected to be at full strength for the NLDS opener?

That question has not been answered in the available reporting. What has been reported is that he is working through his injuries and his swing during the bye week — which suggests the Dodgers are optimistic enough about his availability that they are focused on improvement rather than managing his absence. But working through something is not the same as resolving it, and the distinction will matter when the series begins.

Watch for any update from the Dodgers' camp as the bye week progresses and the NLDS opponent becomes clear. Freeman's health and his swing are two separate variables, and how each resolves — or doesn't — will shape how Los Angeles deploys its lineup against whichever team emerges from the wild-card round.