Corey Seager was building off his 2020 National League Championship Series and World Series MVP Awards this year but has been out of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup since the middle of May after being hit by a pitch in the right hand.
While Seager avoided what may have been season-ending surgery, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts forecasted he would be out at least four weeks and likely closer to two months. The team then was hopeful for a return in early July, but Seager’s recovery stalled amid lingering soreness in the hand as a result of increasing his number of swings during workouts.
After spending some time resting during the All-Star break, the 27-year-old reported to Camelback Ranch. “He’s expected to play [Saturday] in a game at CBR,” Roberts said. “Probably a five- or six-inning situation where he takes three at-bats.”
The Dodgers transferred Seager to the 60-day injured list at the end of June, which made July 15 the earliest date he could be activated. Roberts has pointed to next week’s series against the San Francisco Giants as the target for Seager to be back in the lineup, but it’s not something the Dodgers will force the issue with.
“I don’t want to put a hard date on it. I think the No. 1 thing is the health,” Roberts said.
“So once he comes out of it OK, then I want to make sure the timing is good for Corey, that he feels good in the batter’s box, the recovery from playing defense. If it’s Monday, great. If it’s not, then we’re more than willing to adjust the timeline.”
Dodgers remaining patient with Kershaw
In addition to taking a methodical approach with Seager’s recovery process, the Dodgers are also doing the same with Clayton Kershaw. He remains on the 10-day IL due to left forearm inflammation and is yet to resume throwing.
Roberts believes that may start in the coming days, but Kershaw still figures to be multiple weeks away from returning.
“I think this is something that once it kind of came about, it made sense to take the time to cut some of the season off and save some bullets for the rest of the season and throughout the postseason,” Roberts said. “We feel good about it.”
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