LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- After creating a scare when he made an early exit from Friday's game against the Phillies, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman provided an immediate sense of relief on Saturday when he said, "It's not my wrist" and informed reporters that he will play again on Sunday.
Freeman made what truly proved to be just a precautionary exit after a checked swing caused him to feel some discomfort within the soft portion of his right hand between his thumb and index finger. The short-lived discomfort caused him and countless Braves fans to fear he had aggravated the right wrist injury that sidelined or bothered him for much of last season's final four months.
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"I knew right away that it was the top of my hand and everything was good," Freeman said. "The wrist is fine. It's stable and it's still there. I feel great. I was just a little scared, and I apologize for that.
"I was trying to be overly cautious. I felt something, so I pulled myself out of the game just to make sure. I came into the [clubhouse]. They worked on it for 10 minutes and then it was right back into the cage to test it out, and I was completely fine."

Freeman opted not to talk to reporters on Friday, because he just wanted to make sure that he still felt good when he awoke on Saturday. He believes the scare might have been created by some scar tissue that developed after similar right hand discomfort had led him to receive a cortisone injection after he'd returned from the month-long disabled list stint after his wrist became a problem in June.
"A lot of things ran through my head," Freeman said. "You try to go through every possible scenario, and you just don't think about a check swing. That was not one of the things I was thinking about. But I'm kind of glad that it did happen this early on and I know that I'm OK if that happens again. … It's nothing that is overly worrisome at all. Once it loosens up, I'm good to go."
Freeman plans to play during Sunday's road game against the Astros and again on Monday when the Braves host the Rays. If all goes well, he might attempt to play three consecutive games for the first time this spring, beginning with Wednesday's home contest against the Cardinals.