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Get that thumb better, Freddie.
For the 2nd year in a row, the Braves' top positional prospect has sustained a potentially serious injury while playing in the Arizona Fall League. According to reports, Freeman injured a thumb while sliding into 3rd base after hitting a triple and left the game right after. The injury is being called a sprain and will have it evaluated tomorrow. As you may recall, Talking Chop reported last fall that Jason Heyward injured a posterior leg muscle and proceeded to miss the rest of the Fall League. It didn't have much of an affect on Heyward's rookie season and we can only hope it won't continue to bother Freddie.
In case you were wondering, Freeman is hitting .125 in the AFL with a triple and one RBI. There's no reason to be concerned though and there's no indication that his thumb had been bothering him before the injury tonight.
If the injury is even close to being serious, it's time to bring Freeman back to Atlanta. We've all seen how long it can take for thumb, hand and wrist injuries to heal and there's no reason to have Freddie risk future injury for some relatively meaningless swings in the AFL. He's already been named the heavy favorite to be the starting 1B for the Braves in 2011 and we'll need him to be ready from Day 1. If he misses a few weeks, so be it. I have a pretty good feeling Freddie Freeman will have much, much more important at-bats for the Braves in the coming years.
Stay tunned for more updates from Talking Chop on Freeman's injured thumb.
0 recs | 56 comments
Oy vey
award6 - October 18, 2010
I'm just guessing here, but....
BAN HEAD-FIRST SLIDES for Braves’ players!
carpengui - October 19, 2010
+1
HEYJUDE - October 19, 2010
Yeah. Freddi needs to find a new base sliding coach.
redwards95 - October 19, 2010
for real...
you’d think after he’d seen the effect it had on his good friend Jason this year, he might have known a little better.
knarf - October 19, 2010
Does anyone really know whether it was a head-first slide?
You can injure your thumb sliding feet-first also.
Tarkus - October 19, 2010
2011 is now over
Taylor Masters - October 19, 2010
Whether the injury is serious or not, I hope they just let Freddie rest now. I know they want to get him some extra ABs, cause what young player couldn’t use more?, but this is probably a good sign that it’s time for him to put an end to 2010. Either way, I hope he gets well soon.
cbwilk - October 19, 2010
I hope for his sake its his right thumb
He’s 20 years old and single, he can’t afford to have his..uh..“batting hand” out of action for several weeks.
ATLandUNC - October 19, 2010
he’s a 21 year old stud baseball player and he hangs with Jason Heyward. I don’t think he’s worried about it. At worst he can pick up girls at Hooters.
Rhyno18 - October 19, 2010
A Chipper joke?...
and how long does the AFL season last? If it only has a couple weeks left, it makes no sense for him to stay and risk re-injury.
Mr. Sanchez - October 19, 2010
6 weeks
Let the thumb heal up. When Heyaward finally rested and let his thumb heal, he came back almost as good as new. When Prado hurt his thumb, he probabaly came back too soon. Lee played with a bad thumb for 2 mos and his numbers suffered.
DawgB - October 19, 2010
Actually...
Heyward’s thumb never completely healed. He was still playing with pain. Probably why his power all but disappeared.
Tarkus - October 19, 2010
This
Yakker - October 19, 2010
It’s the “career-ending” injury I fear the most.
TheLetter2 - October 19, 2010
I really don’t understand why Freddie was even in the AFL this year. I know they wanted to get him some more at bats, but why? He played a full season at AAA, did a great job there and basically won the starting 1B position for the big club next year with that performance. Why would they send him to the AFL to risk an injury? I just don’t get it…
Dave_D - October 19, 2010
Wren said they wanted to get him some more at bats against major league quakity pitching, but did not want to tire him out by playing winter ball. He only had a handful of at bats with the Braves, so if he played for the whole 6 weeks, he would probably have gotten another 125-150 AB.
Also, it was in the AFL 2 years ago that Tommy Hanson really lit it up and was the league MVP. That experience carried over when he got the call up last June.
DawgB - October 19, 2010
My guess is the real reason has to do with Wren contemplating next year’s lineup and trying to decide if, in fact, going into SP, Freddie has “basically won the starting 1B position”.
fandave - October 19, 2010
That could have been the case...
…if Wren hadn’t already announced that Freddie was the guy next year.
cavebird - October 19, 2010
except what Wren says, what he actually thinks, and what he then does, you know, in reality, do not always or necessarily coincide.
fandave - October 19, 2010
look at it this way, for example: Yes, Freddie had a near-awesome 20-year old season in AAA and appears fully ready to be the guy next year. But Wren also happens to want to win and win big next year, and urgently needs a very productive, big RH bat. Is Freddie completely untouchable? Maybe yes, maybe no, and maybe it would depend on the exact deal being offered. And if so, what would put an exclamation point on Freddie’s season and drive up his value like six weeks of utter rakage in AZ?
fandave - October 19, 2010
His swing is still a bit ugly, he could use the extra work. Besides, he could just as easily hurt himself at home, might as well get some practice in. You can’t baby players hoping they don’t get hurt, injury is a part of baseball.
king of games - October 19, 2010
You also don’t want injuries getting aggravated and missing real time in ST or regular season, or end up like Schaefer.
Broccoman - October 21, 2010
Actually....
It is the third year in a row that a Braves top positional prospect has been injured in the fall league. Jordan Schafer injured himself when he slammed into the outfield wall running after a fly ball.
10-4 - October 19, 2010
I think Schafer injures himself getting out of bed.
Tarkus - October 19, 2010
Speaking of injuries....
Maybe this isn’t the proper forum but….Has anyone heard anything yet about the Braves Med staff being replaced?
jdmarine - October 19, 2010
For the love of God, THIS!
king of games - October 19, 2010
You can’t blame the medical staff on this one.
Broccoman - October 21, 2010
Best wishes to Freddie for a speedy recovery.
TheLetter2 - October 19, 2010
AFL is overrated, enjoy the off-season Freddie. See you at 1B in March.
CharlotteChop - October 19, 2010
is it rosterbation time yet?
I propose a package of fring-level prospect to KC for Grienke (coming off a sup-par year) i.e. able to buy low… and package JJ for that big bat we need. I’d feel more comfortable about dealing JJ with an experienced pitcher like Grienke in the rotation. And Dayton Moore loves ATL prospects…
HansonManCrush - October 19, 2010
Why would KC accept fringe-level prospects for a top pitcher?
dunnytwogloves - October 19, 2010
In addition
a 5.2 WAR year isn’t a sub-par year. It only looks like it compared to the 9.4 WAR he posted last season.
Andy Braves Fan - October 19, 2010
He said “fring”-level. Totally different.
TradeAndruw - October 19, 2010
because
Dayton Moore has a hard-on for atl farmhands regardless of performance or talent
HansonManCrush - October 19, 2010
You don’t get Cy Young winners for fringe prospects, regardless of who the GM is.
king of games - October 19, 2010
Perhaps
“Fringe” prospects was the wrong choice of words… I’m simply trying to say that in the case of Atl and KC, I think you could land Greinke with a package of six or so guys (i.e. Johnson, Gearrin, Cofield, etc.) who aren’t considered “untouchable”. It seems to me that Moore aways prefers quantity over quality. But I’m no GM
HansonManCrush - October 19, 2010
I agree he could be gotten.
But KC would probably want at least one proven major leaguer or a future top of the rotation guy. It might not have to be JT, but probably someone pretty close.
king of games - October 19, 2010
Actually
With Freeman dinged up, now is the time to go after Pujols. Think about it. He only has one moe year left on his contract, and by 2012 Freeman should be fully healthy. It makes perfect sense. Plus, St. Louis needs infielders, so I think Brandon Hicks and Diory could get it done.
What do you guys think???
Yakker - October 19, 2010
I think you're overreacting to a thumb injury in October.
Tarkus - October 19, 2010
I'm sorry
I made a proposal that many people think is downright stupid.
But that is just hurtful /sarcasm
HansonManCrush - October 19, 2010
Whoa there, Hoss!
Hicks AND Diory? Tell me this, Basement-Dweller: Who’s going to be our 26th man? Let’s face it – Pujols isn’t that good.
buzzdeadwax - October 19, 2010
I hear TPJ is available
And he can pitch now, too!
Yakker - October 19, 2010
/wipes vomit from face
Well played, sir.
buzzdeadwax - October 19, 2010
If the injury is serious
would this make the Braves mgt consider hanging on to Lee or taking a shot @ aquiring Dunn from the Nats?
adc62 - October 19, 2010
I'm not
sure they want to spend the money. I think the org’s primary focus is solidifying the OF with power bat(s)
HansonManCrush - October 19, 2010
I can see maybe offering him arb for 1 yr. That’s itt.
Broccoman - October 19, 2010
If it makes anyone feel any better, I shattered by thumb (playing softball of all things) and was back up and running 5/6 weeks later. It was pretty amazing, I had surgery which included a plate and 8 screws.
Obviously, he will be in a different boat if it is a soft tissue injury, as those always take longer to heal.
JDMaker1 - October 19, 2010
Can you play 1B for ATL in 2011?
Yakker - October 19, 2010
He probably could have in 2009.
Broccoman - October 21, 2010
This kinda sucks.
I was hoping to see more of him. Hopefully I’ll catch some Bryce Harper at least.
king of games - October 19, 2010
This sucks
KJDH2154 - October 19, 2010
No more Melky
Melky’s gone according to MLBTR. YAY!
redwards95 - October 19, 2010
And
this is a reason why I didn’t want him to play in the AFL. This sucks
Braves24 - October 19, 2010
If it was a head-first slide...
…the players really should be encouraged to stop this. Not only at the major-league level but in the minors too.
It seems to be the norm lately and causing too many preventable injuries.
I say get him back to ATL to heal completely.
NCChopper - October 20, 2010
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
MBL1 - October 20, 2010 via mobile
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