Freddie Freeman cleared to return to club activities

The Atlanta Braves announced this afternoon that All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman and pitcher Touki Toussaint have been cleared to return to club activities. Both players tested positive for COVID-19 on July 3. 

Freddie Freeman and Touki Toussaint have been cleared to return to club facilities.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 17, 2020

Reports came out last night that Freeman would likely not be ready for Opening Day, and that could still be the case, but this is still a big step forward. In order to resume club activities, Freeman and Toussaint were required to produce two negative tests, and no one knew when that would be. 

Now that they're back, it would seem that there's at least a small chance he could be ready when the Braves travel to New York to take on the Mets next Friday. Of course, he might still need some more time to get ready for the season, but it looks like his return to play is sooner than initially thought.

Freeman's wife Chelsea posted on Instagram earlier today, saying that he was "feeling great" and their "whole family is healthy." 

Freeman batted .295 with 38 home runs and 121 RBIs for Atlanta last season, and the Braves would have suffered from his absence in the lineup. While we're still not sure when exactly he'll make his season debut, this is good to see.