Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman and his wife, Chelsea, are expecting their fourth child via surrogate.
The baseballer, 36, and Chelsea, 34, shared a joint Instagram post on Sunday, February 22, that confirmed the exciting news. “Worth the wait. Baby #4 is on the way and our hearts are already so full,” the post read. “We are incredibly grateful for the amazing woman helping bring our baby into our lives, and we’re choosing to honor her privacy as we walk this chapter.”
The couple, who share three sons, Charlie, born in 2016, Brandon, born in 2020, and Maximus, born in 2021, then playfully asked their social media fans, “What do you think… brother or sister?” The caption accompanied a family photo that saw one of their sons holding up a black-and-white sonogram image.
The news comes after Chelsea spoke to Us Weekly last year about the frightening health emergency that rocked the couple’s family. After Maximus was rushed to hospital in July 2024 as a result of being unable to sit, stand or walk, he was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder: Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder where the body’s immune system attacks the nerves.
Chelsea, who described the situation as the most “terrifying thing” she had been through, told Us in March 2025, “He’s been so resilient. It’s been amazing to see. He’s still in [physical therapy] two times a week. It will be a full one-year recovery before he’s back to complete normal.”
She added that the family have looked for a silver lining amid the health scare. “It obviously taught us that health is everything. It was awful. He was fully paralyzed on a ventilator. Seeing him able to play outside, it’s really a miracle for how sick he was,” she explained at the time.
The couple’s fourth child is not the first carried via surrogacy. In 2021, ESPN reported that the Freemans “explored fertility options” after trying to fall pregnant following the birth of their eldest son. After a surrogate was arranged to carry their second child, Chelsea also became pregnant “nearly simultaneously,” per the outlet.
The athlete told the outlet at the time that the pair hoped their story would provide motivation for other hopeful parents. “Every pregnancy and fertility journey is a little bit different for everyone … I think it’s an inspirational story that we have,” he said. “We tried for a couple of years, and it didn’t happen. We were talking with doctors, and they suggested surrogacy. We jumped at that, because we wanted to be blessed with more kids.”
Chelsea added that she had hoped for a large family soon after meeting Freddie. “As long as I’ve known him, he said that since he was a little boy, he always knew he wanted to be a dad,” she told the outlet. “As important as being a baseball player to him is, I think being a dad is even more important.”
Of her own motherhood aspirations, she said, “It was always my dream to have three kids by the time I was 30. When my 29th birthday came around and I still wasn’t pregnant, I never thought it would be possible. I think our story is definitely a story that God always has a bigger plan. Whether a family is looking towards fostering, adoption or surrogacy, children … no matter which way they come, [children] are truly a blessing for any family.”
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