Dodgers' Freddie Freeman injury update says it all about his leadership skills

Freddie Freeman has had a very tough go at things this year. At the plate, he's been just fine; his .289 batting average is the Dodgers' second-highest and just a single point below Shohei Ohtani's. He continues to be a doubles machine, tying Ohtani with 29, and is on pace for a 20+ homer season.

Off the field, though, Freeman's son Max was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, which led to him stepping away from the team from late July into early August. When he returned, he did so to a long standing ovation from the crowd at Dodger Stadium and got right back to it; he's been batting .302 since Aug. 5, when he reentered the lineup.

However, an on-field complication threatened things on Saturday, when Freeman corralled a ball at first and appeared to hurt his finger as he bobbled the ball. He was taken out of the game and sat out entirely on Sunday, which led to some fears that we might have to expect the worst.

However, Freeman returned to the lineup on Monday night despite a diagnosis of a hairline fracture on his right middle finger.

Freddie Freeman will continue to play for Dodgers despite hairline fracture in his finger

Apart from being a really good baseball player, Freeman is clearly just a good teammate. With the returns of Tommy Edman and Max Muncy on Monday, the Dodgers finally look like they're coming out on the other end of a long stretch of injury after injury for position players (let's not talk about the pitching staff right now). Adding Freeman to that list would prove that the Dodgers haven't quite shaken that bad luck yet, not to mention they'd be losing one of their most reliable bats.

But Freeman is playing through the pain, and he's doing it well. During Monday's game, he made a fantastic play to steal what could've been an extra base hit and RBI from Cal Raleigh, leaping up at first to snag one right out of the air while making it look easy.

While having Freeman continue to play while he's nursing an injury can and probably should worry the Dodgers and fans a bit, he's clearly ready and willing. Even if they need to schedule a couple of rest days for him through the rest of the regular season, this is a guy who wants to be there for his team, and the Dodgers are better for it.