Nate Freiman, the 2005 Wellesley High graduate and baseball star, has earned a spot on the Oakland A’s roster for Opening Day, which for the A’s starts Monday vs. Seattle. “I think I’m still shaking,” Freiman said after being told by the manager that he’d made the team.
Freiman makes the roster as a right-handed hitting first baseman, and his big break comes at least in part from another player getting hurt and starting the season on the disabled list.
The former Wellesley Little League player started the spring with the Houston Astros, but a logjam at first base didn’t allow him to stick there despite having a decent spring training. The Astros waived him and the A’s snapped him up.
Freiman starred at Duke University in the mid-2000s, ending his career there as the school’s leader in homers and batting average. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres and has spent the past 4 years in their minor league season, having a break-out year last season and also starring for Israel in the World Baseball Classic qualifier.