After being acquired at the August 31 trade deadline, David Freese made solid contributions down the stretch and into the playoffs.
What went right
Freese turned out to be an excellent acquisition in the final hours before the deadline. The 10-year veteran went 15-for-39 in 19 games, hitting .385/.489/.641 with two homers, two doubles and a triple.
Even better than that, Freese was 13-for-28 (.464) against lefties, the exact reason the Dodgers traded for him. The strong offense continued into the postseason as Freese went a combined 8-for-22 (.364) at the plate over the three rounds.
Manny Machado may have put the series on ice when he hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 4 in the NLDS, but Freese’s two-run single in the sixth was a huge hit. Up until that point, the Dodgers were losing 2-1 and the big hit gave them a lead.
Freese also added leadoff home runs in Game 6 of the NLCS and Game 5 of the World Series. Unfortunately, the Dodgers lost both of those games.
What went wrong
Not a whole lot went wrong for the 35-year-old after he joined the Dodgers. There was some clamoring for more playing time in the playoffs based on how he was hitting, but he made the most of the time he was on the field.
2018 particulars
Age: 35
Stats: 15-for-39, .385/.489/.641 with two homers, two doubles and a triple in 19 games.
Salary: $4.25 million (over $700,000 with the Dodgers)
Game of the year
With the Dodgers still trying to hold off the Rockies in the division race, Freese went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI in a 7-4 win over the Diamondbacks on September 24.
After driving in a run with an RBI-single in the first, Freese tied the game in the fifth with a solo home run. Both runs were driven in against lefty Robbie Ray, the only runs he gave up to the Dodgers that night.
Roster status
The Dodgers paid $500,000 to buyout Freese’s contract for 2019, but signed the infielder to a one-year, $4.5 million deal in November to return next season.