Tommy John surgery last May cut the 2018 season to just 26 games for Corey Seager, but the Los Angeles Dodgers projected at the time of the operation that he would make a full recovery by Spring Training the following year and in turn, 2019 Opening Day.
Seager then underwent arthroscopic hip surgery in August, which was not expected to impact his timeline. Seager hasn’t been on the same schedule as other position players in camp, but he’s been an active participant.
After multiple instances of just tracking pitches, he steadily built up to swinging a bat in a live batting practice setting. That was one of the final hurdles to participating in a game, which Seager did on a backfield at Camelback Ranch.
With Opening Day rapidly approaching, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts restated the club expects Seager to be full-go come March 28, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“The way he was moving around yesterday, he’s very excited,” said Roberts. “We couldn’t be more happy with where he’s at this day.”
And that means the club expects Seager to be ready for Opening Day?
“Absolutely,” said Roberts.
Seager’s workouts and schedule was interrupted after playing in his first Minor League game as he battled flu-like symptoms. While he’s been cleared to participate in games, Roberts has not yet identified when Seager will make his 2019 Cactus League debut.
Roberts did previously explain the majority of his on-field time would come in the form of ‘B’ games. Moreover, he detailed the Dodgers being more mindful of and concerned with how Seager will acclimate to the rigors of playing shortstop, as opposed to his success at the plate.
