GLENDALE, Ariz. — Father Time is undefeated. But Freddie Freeman intends to put up a good fight.

“I love this game. I don’t want it to end, but I get it. It’s going to end,” Freeman said after the Dodgers’ workout on Thursday. “Father Time is going to catch up. … We’re keeping it off a long time. But there comes a point where it’s time. And obviously I’m not there yet. I love it. I’m still playing pretty good. So as long as I can keep playing pretty good, and they want me out there every day, I’ll keep going.”

Freeman is entering his 17th major-league season having turned 36 years old in September. Other numbers have started to enter his mind – like, four. Freeman has a soft target in mind of playing four more years, taking him to his 40th birthday.

“Is it less? Is it more? I don’t know,” he said. “But that’s kind of just where I’m at. I feel good right now. That was just floated because that would be an even 20 years. I’ll be 40. I have a family that I would like to go home to. But I do love this game. I love playing it. But for me, if I can do four (more years). That’ll be 20 years. I think that’s enough.”

Four more healthy years would likely get Freeman to another number – 3,000 hits, a milestone that only 33 players in baseball history have reached and one Freeman has acknowledged as a goal. He will enter this season with 2,431. An average of less than 150 per season would get him there in his 20th season.

“If I play like I normally do and stay healthy, I think maybe in that fourth year I should probably get that,” he said. “I’ve played a long time. That’d be 23 years of professional baseball. I think that’s enough traveling for me. But it’s not four, set. I’m not doing that. But four in my mind is the number I’m looking forward to. But if it’s three, five, four, I guess we’ll find out.”

He will need another contract to get there. Freeman’s six-year deal with the Dodgers (a bargain at $162 million) ends after next season. After starting his career with the Atlanta Braves, he would like to end it in Los Angeles.

“I would like that. I love being here,” he said. “I’m from Southern California. I’ve had a great time with fans. You guys treat me great. Everyone’s treating my family good.

“That’s out of my control. I’m not worried about another contract, not going to bring it up, not going to talk about it. I’ve got two years left. I’m just an employee. I just do my job, and if they want me back, they want me back. But I think Andrew (Friedman) and everyone knows that I love being here. So whatever happens, happens.”

Seeing the finish line has not changed Freeman’s approach to each season. He wants to play 162 games and he expects to hit .300. The fact that he didn’t each of the past two seasons does not sit well with him.

“It irks me. I like hits. I’m a hitter. And a ‘3’ at the front of a batting average means a lot to me. I know batting average and those kind of things don’t mean a lot to a lot of people these days, but it does to me. If you hit .300, it means you’re on base a lot and you’re scoring runs for your team. So that’s the goal.”

Freeman also has a goal defensively. He felt the ankle injury that required surgery following the 2024 World Series comprised his movement last year. He expects a healthy offseason to allow him to change that this season.

“I’m really looking forward to this year. I didn’t like the way I played defense last year, and I thought it’s just because I wasn’t moving enough,” he said. “So a big, big goal of mine is to play better at first (base) this year, get to more balls, be able to cover more things. So that’s going to be a key for me. And if I can do that really well and play defense like I think I can play, and match the production at the plate, then maybe Andrew and Mark (Walter) and all them will want me around.”

LID LIFTER

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the Cactus League opener against the Angels on Saturday afternoon. It is likely to be Yamamoto’s only appearance in Arizona before he and Ohtani leave to join Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic.

Catcher Will Smith and outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages are likely to be in Saturday’s starting lineup, Roberts said, with Ohtani possibly at designated hitter. Right fielder Kyle Tucker will make his spring debut Sunday against the San Diego Padres.

Freeman said he won’t make his spring debut until Tuesday and Roberts said he is in no hurry to get veterans Max Muncy and Mookie Betts into games.

“Guys like Mookie and Munc, I’m going to kind of start those guys a little bit later than this weekend and see where we go,” he said. “I’ve got to appreciate it’s a longer spring (than the past two years). If they’re going to be here for six weeks, those guys, I don’t want to come in too hot. I want to pace them out a lot.”

BOUNCE BACK

Right-hander Yency Almonte is back with the Dodgers after two years with the Chicago Cubs. The veteran right-hander signed a minor-league contract Thursday with a non-roster invitation to big-league camp.

After four seasons with the Colorado Rockies, Almonte joined the Dodgers in 2022. He had a 1.02 ERA in 33 appearances that year but struggled in 2023 and was traded along with Michael Busch to the Cubs in exchange for top prospects Zyhir Hope and Jackson Ferris.

A shoulder injury limited him to 15⅔ innings for the Cubs in 2024 and none in 2025 when he spent the year in the minors or on the injured list.