Freeman hits his 1st HR with the Dodgers

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The last week has been a strange one for Freddie Freeman. He is experiencing his first Spring Training in Arizona after spending more than a dozen in Florida as a member of the Braves.

By his own admission, Freeman is still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he’s no longer playing for the Braves. The reality that he is now wearing the blue Dodgers uniform instead of the red Braves jersey is still new to him.

One of the few times Freeman feels normal these days is when he steps into the batter’s box. On Friday, Freeman did what he does best, hitting his first home run as a member of the Dodgers, albeit during a spring training game.

In typical Freeman fashion, the five-time All-Star hit an away-field home run off Padres right-hander Nick Martinez in the first inning. It was Freeman’s first hit with the Dodgers.

“He’s settling in really well,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s very undemanding – not that I expected him to be very demanding. What he’s told our coaches is, ‘Don’t expect to see me. I still love you. But don’t expect to see me in the training room.’ He just wants to play and post”.

For the first time this spring, the Dodgers fielded a starting lineup that resembles one we might see frequently throughout the season, including in two weeks when Los Angeles opens its season in Colorado against the Rockies.

As Roberts read the lineup out loud, there was a noticeable smile on his face. A big reason for that is that Freeman was sitting in the middle of his lineup. Roberts said that while nothing is permanent, he is leaning toward having Freeman in the No. 2 lineup behind Mookie Betts and opposite Trea Turner.

“I think with Freddie among those guys, I think it’s important,” Roberts said. “So having right-left-right-left potentially with Max Muncy right there just poses a lot of problems for opposing teams.”