PHOENIX — He might have only been knocking the rust off. But Freddie Freeman was still less than thrilled.

Facing live pitching for one of the few times all spring this week, Freeman stood at the plate on a nondescript backfield at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch facility and took swing after swing against a couple of minor-leaguers.

Less than three months removed from offseason surgery on his right ankle, the session was a grind.

Several times, Freeman grunted as he rolled soft grounders toward first base. On a lazy pop-up to left, he sarcastically quipped that it “went the other way, at least.” After ending another at-bat with a big swing-and-miss, Freeman simply looked down as he trudged out of the box.

As the live batting practice ended minutes later, Freeman saw Dodgers strength and conditioning coach Travis Smith approaching. Smith, he knew, was there to oversee the baserunning drills that were next on Freeman’s agenda. So, he turned to hitting coach Aaron Bates and cracked a joke.

“I blame Trav,” Freeman deadpanned, loud enough for a Smith to hear. “I was thinking about running.”

Coming off his triumphant World Series and celebratory offseason, this moment was a more appropriate snapshot of the reality Freeman has faced this spring.

After Freeman gutted it out through his badly sprained ankle and broken rib cartilage last October — when his storybook postseason culminated with MVP honors in the World Series and a historic walk-off grand slam in Game 1 — the physical toll the 35-year-old endured finally caught up with him this winter.

In early December, with his ankle still aching more than a month into the offseason, Freeman had an MRI exam that revealed the need for a debridement surgery; cleaning up loose bodies and chipped cartilage that had matriculated to his Achilles’ tendon.

As late as January, manager Dave Roberts said, there was doubt over whether he’d be able to start the 2025 season on time.

“He wasn’t moving very well, wasn’t recovering, still was in a lot of pain,” Roberts said. “Opening Day didn’t even seem feasible.”

Fast-forward two months, however, and Freeman is now fully expecting to be in the lineup when the Dodgers open their season on March 18-19 in Japan against the Chicago Cubs.

His ankle isn’t 100%, and probably won’t be for the first half of the season. But he has progressed to an important point in his recovery, making his Cactus League debut Thursday with a one-for-three performance in a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

“I felt pretty good today,” Freeman said afterward. “Saw the pitches well. Felt like I swung at strikes … Just wanted to swing a lot today. That was my goal, to see where the timing was.”

Freeman still has more boxes to check between now and when the Dodgers leave for Japan in less than two weeks.

He has yet to play the field in a game, limited to designated hitting duties on Thursday. He is continuing to work through a running progress to complete his ankle rehab; his post-BP drills with Smith earlier in the week serving as the latest reminder of the hurdles left to clear.

“It’s good enough,” Freeman quipped when asked if his ankle was 100% yet. “I wish it felt like my left one does.”

That might not happen for a while. Freeman said he will probably have to tape his ankle in games until some point around the All-Star break. He will be a familiar presence in the training room, and might even agree to take an occasional off day early in the campaign — something he has been loath to do during his 15-year career.

“Lower-body injuries are hard to rehab, especially the ankle,” Freeman said. “So I do believe it’s gonna be a lot more treatment-wise than I would like.”

The good news for Freeman is that he’s already starting to feel better about his swing.

On Thursday, he recorded his first hit, a line-drive single to right, after battling back from an 0-and-2 count. He’ll get more chances to collect at-bats over the weekend, planning to DH again on Saturday and potentially return to first base on Sunday.

“I thought he was moving really well,” Roberts said. “Better than I would have expected.”

What wasn’t unexpected: The loud reception Freeman received before his first at-bat, and the “Fredd-ie! Fredd-ie!” chants that followed him as he walked up the clubhouse tunnel after leaving the field.

All offseason, Freeman has experienced such attention; his already substantial popularity skyrocketing in the wake of his playoff heroics last October. Even during trips to the grocery store, he said, fans have approached him to simply say thanks.

“It’s very uncomfortable for me,” Freeman joked with a laugh. “But that’s OK. I appreciate it. I really do. It’s not something you set out for, but taking it in stride. You appreciate what you were able to create for people. I don’t take that for granted.”

Looking ahead to this season, Freeman said he is eager to see the kind of welcome the Dodgers (and the three Japanese stars on the roster) get in Japan during their highly anticipated trip next month.

But it’s the team’s domestic home-opener a week later that he is admittedly most looking forward to — thankful that the ankle he hurt helping the Dodgers win the World Series last year won’t keep him off the field the day they receive their championship rings.

“For me, it’s easy to focus on the now,” Freeman said, “but I can still appreciate last year.”