Freeman has surgery on bothersome right elbow

ATLANTA -- Freddie Freeman underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, which bothered him throughout most of September and seemingly influenced his disappointing October.

The Braves announced Dr. David Altchek performed the procedure in New York on Wednesday. Altcheck cleaned Freeman’s entire right elbow joint during the procedure. He removed three fragmented loose bodies and cleaned multiple bone spur formations that had developed.

The first baseman is expected to be ready for the start of Spring Training.

Freeman repeatedly said his elbow did not bother him during the National League Division Series. But as he went 4-for-20 with a double and a homer during the best-of-five series against the Cardinals, he extended the concerns that developed when his power and production steeply declined in September.

When Freeman exited a Sept. 13 game at Nationals Park, he revealed the bone spur in his right elbow had occasionally bothered him over the past couple seasons. He returned to the lineup the next afternoon and remained there until resting on Sept. 21, the day after the Braves clinched the National League East.

Freeman experienced more discomfort before making another early exit from the Sept. 22 series finale against the Giants. At this point, the Braves decided it would be best for him to remain in Atlanta while they traveled to Kansas City for a two-game series. The hope was four days of rest would prove sufficient.

But when Freeman rejoined the Braves at Citi Field on Sept. 27, it was apparent he was still limited by the elbow discomfort. The four-time All-Star took some hesitant swings, cautiously threw the ball around the infield between innings and held his elbow close to his right rib cage when he ran on and off the field.

Freeman exited August hitting .299 with a career-high 36 home runs and a .964 OPS. He hit two more home runs against the White Sox on Sept. 1 and then tallied just three more extra-base hits (no home runs) over the remainder of the regular season. He recorded a second consecutive three-hit game in Philadelphia on Sept. 10 and then hit .128 (5-for-39) with a .440 OPS over his last 13 games (49 plate appearances).