The Los Angeles Dodgers took a cautious approach with Corey Seager this spring, as they have limited his exposure on the field to prevent any further problems from occurring with his right elbow.
After completing a lengthy throwing program that began in the offseason, Seager finally received some reps at shortstop on Monday for the first time all spring, albeit in a ‘B’ game at Camelback Ranch against Minor Leaguers.
He homered in his first at-bat and played five defensive innings — successfully fielding two ground balls in the second inning. Seager felt fine after the game and could next see the field on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies.
While Seager is encouraged with his progression, he isn’t interested in receiving extra rest during the regular season, even if it means taking on a lighter workload to benefit his elbow, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Seager has played in 302 of a possible 324 games over the past two seasons and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has hinted at possibly giving him more days off this year as a way of warding off any potential return of the elbow and back problems Seager dealt with last year.
Asked if he was interested in taking more days off this year, Seager repeated his one-word answer three times, shaking his head.
“No,” he said. “No. No.”
Seager is arguably the Dodgers’ most valuable positional player, so it makes sense that the club wants to ease him into action and give him more days off than usual.
Earlier this spring, Seager was seemed more open to days off, citing there should be a balance struck between his workload and rest this season. That was a point of contention between Seager and the team down the stretch last year.
Should Seager require a stint on the disabled list at any point because of his elbow, the Dodgers have already formulated a backup plan. Chris Taylor, who’s projected to start in center field, is prepared to return to his natural position in the event that Seager isn’t healthy enough to do so.
