Coming off Tommy John and hip surgeries that limited him to just 26 games in 2018, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager has been taking things extremely cautious so far this spring.
He reached a major milestone in his recovery from the elbow surgery over the weekend when he threw across the diamond while taking ground balls at shortstop. “It was the first time he had done that and from all reports, it was good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“And with Corey everything is where it needs to be except the elbow. So we’re just going to continue to ramp him up slowly and go through that Tommy John progression. As a position player, it doesn’t affect his swinging and we’ll just keep extending him and ramping up the workload with him.”
Seager also stood at the plate during Kenley Jansen’s live bullpen session. While he hasn’t yet taken a swing, Roberts believes it is Seager him get his timing and ability to locate pitches back.
“He was in there and whether it’s bullpens or lives, just to gather as much information and he’s done a great job with that,” Roberts explained.
Though Seager continues to make steady progress in his rehab process and workouts, he is not necessarily on the verge of taking the field for a game.
“I don’t know the exact date but we have a schedule laid out for him. I would say a couple of weeks is fair,” Roberts said.
When Seager is able to begin seeing game action, it will likely be in Minor League games on the back fields at first so the Dodgers can control the environment a little bit more.
Barring any setbacks, Seager is still expected to be ready for Opening Day or shortly after.
