Freddie Freeman leaving WBC game with injury is everything Dodgers feared (UPDATED)

UPDATE: The Dodgers received good news on Freeman's hamstring injury on Wednesday. We'll still be monitoring carefully.

First came the free agent exodus. Then came the lack of moves with requisite impact. Then came Gavin Lux's season-ending ACL injury. And now the Los Angeles Dodgers have to deal with Freddie Freeman leaving Canada's World Baseball Classic matchup on Tuesday with a hamstring injury.

The Dodgers, mind you, do not have a backup first baseman ... unless you're counting starting third baseman Max Muncy ... or starting second baseman Miguel Vargas ... or a man in Luke Williams who isn't even on the roster (he was invited to Spring Training).

According to the initial reports stemming from the Canada-Colombia matchup, Freeman exited with a "slight" hamstring issue, if that helps calm your nerves. But hamstring injuries are always difficult because of how nagging they can be.

Even more upsetting is that this came not even a full day after Freeman revealed why he decided to play for Team Canada in the WBC. The six-time All-Star and former NL MVP talked about his Canadian-born parents and how his participation is fueled by his mother's passing back when he was 10 years of age.

His dream to make her proud, as of now, will sadly (likely) be cut short as to not risk his status for Opening Day (or beyond, should the injury be more serious).

Dodgers' Freddie Freeman leaves World Baseball Classic due to injury

Even though the Dodgers lost premier talent in Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Tyler Anderson and other contributing pieces, they always leaned on the fact they would boast two of the undisputed best players in the sport with Freeman and Mookie Betts.

They were also banking on resurgent campaigns from Muncy, Chris Taylor, JD Martinez and Miguel Rojas as well as breakouts from Lux (no longer possible), Vargas and likely James Outman. You can see how that presents a ton more risk than assurance. And now with Freeman potentially going down, the Dodgers could be in a very precarious situation to open 2023.

To make matters worse, Freeman was the team's best hitter during Spring Training and has only missed 10 total games since the start of the 2018 season. He's now in jeopardy of missing his first Opening Day of his career (dating back to 2011).

Stay tuned for updates on the slugger's status as they become available.