The Los Angeles Dodgers welcomed back Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy from the 10-day injured list this week, and planned on having Corey Seager join a Minor League affiliate for the start of his rehab assignment but that appears to have changed.
Seager has been out since May 16 as a right hand fracture forced him to the IL. He started taking batting practice on the field with the Dodgers last weekend, which may have caused some soreness.
“With fractures, every person is different as far as the healing process,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s on his progression, but it could take some time. I think it’s one of those things that’s got to heal properly and then we’ll get him out. I just don’t have any clarity.”
Roberts wasn’t fully certain of what discomfort or feeling Seager may have in his right hand, but added “You can feel with the actions and swinging of the bat until it’s totally healed. I’m sure there’s some residual soreness, and you’ve got to make sure you’re done with that so you don’t regress.”
Seager has been undergoing regular scans of the fracture to ensure it was healing properly. That allowed for him to continue increasing the level of activity before participating in batting practice, which was considered a final hurdle to clear in order to begin a rehab assignment.
Although it appeared that would start this weekend, the Dodgers had not decided on which affiliate the 2020 World Series MVP would join, or how many games he would need to play. The plan was to base the length off Seager’s feeling in the batter’s box.
When will Seager return?
Despite the apparent delay in getting Seager back into game action, Roberts still considers next month a potential target for his return from the IL.
“That was kind of my hope from the outset, and hopefully early July still makes sense,” Roberts said.
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