Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: More Roster Moves, Freeman Update

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Braves’ Freeman offers relief after scare, but questions about wrist remain

Let’s talk about the most talked-about wrist in recent Braves history

“It’s not my wrist.” That was the message two-time All-Star first baseman gave reporters Saturday, one day after he created a scare with an early exit against the Phillies.

A checked swing caused discomfort on his right hand between his thumb and index finger, and as a precautionary measure, Freeman left the game. The initial thought was that he may have re-aggravated the injury that plagued him from mid-June on last season, but he alleviated some concerns as the latest issue proved to be short-lived.

“I knew right away that it was the top of my hand and everything was good,” Freeman told reporters. “The wrist is fine. It’s stable and it’s still there. I feel great. I was just a little scared, and I apologize for that.”

Still, it underscores just how fragile this situation is.

He would go on to say that he believed it was likely created by some scar tissue, which led to discomfort last season after he returned from a disabled-list stint and resulted in his receiving a cortisone injection. But Freeman has actually been dealing with this issue since 2009, when he was shut down for the end of the Double-A season. As he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien in a February Q&A, “Every year I usually get a cortisone shot at the end of the year and I’m good.”

Editor’s Note: So why didn’t he at least say “It’s not my wrist” on Friday?

More from Tomahawk Take

There’s still a couple of aspects about this story that bother me: (1) Freddie saying on Saturday ‘I knew… everything was good’; and (2) refusing to comment on Friday.

He’s also suggesting that maybe it’s a scar-tissue thing. Baseballprospectus lists a hand injury from August 2009 for Freeman, describing it as a ‘contusion’ – a bruise. We have to assume it’s the same hand (right) as the wrist ailment, for that part is unlisted. But this injury would not normally result in ‘scar tissue’. There was no surgery, no serious cut… not even stitches for such a thing unless there was a totally clueless trainer administering a cortisone shot.

Freeman does have a history of thumb issues (2010, 2012, 2013) and a left hand bruise, but that’s on the other hand.

Irrespective of these concerns, Freeman did go out and swing a little BP on Friday after leaving the game, he did play again yesterday, he did come close to another dinger, and he does have plans on playing a lot this week.

So all of this could still be much ado about nothing, but given Freeman’s hand history, I can understand his angst to some degree. At the same time, the right wrist has been a thing all to itself, so the reactions and comments seem a bit odd.

Meanwhile… he’s back to work this morning:

Freddie Freeman's day has already begun. #Braves pic.twitter.com/c5rkTZHtei
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) March 14, 2016

Next: More Spring Roster Moves

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