Off to a 1-3 start on their 11-game road trip, the Los Angeles Dodgers limped into Monday’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Aside from just having played four games in three days, the Dodgers were due to face a team they’d lost to in five of six meetings.
Their seemingly uphill battle to find success against the Diamondbacks was further challenged with news of Corey Seager needing to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. For as much depth as the Dodgers can boast, shortstop is a position they are relatively thin at.
Moreover, replacing a player of Seager’s caliber is no easy task, regardless of position. He’s also been the team’s No. 2 batter in the lineup.
Despite losing the unanimous 2016 National League Rookie of the Year for the remainder of the season, Bellinger is confident in the Dodgers’ ability to press ahead, as seen on SportsNet LA
“Tough news today. Tough to play after that. Honestly, we’re going to be 100 percent fine. We’ve got an unreal group of guys in here who can take the place of Seager. We’ve got guys like Kiké who we trust 100 percent. Obviously, that’s tough, and the D-Backs are hot, but I think we’re going to be fine. We’ve got a great bunch of guys in here who are going to compete every day. We’ve just got to play with a chip on our shoulder right now. Just play as hard as we can until we get our guys back.”
Chris Taylor received the first start at shortstop since news of Seager’s injury surfaced. It can be presumed Taylor will receive the lion’s share up the middle, with Kiké Hernandez making occasional starts as well.
If the Dodgers are going to withstand the loss of Seager and improve on what’s been a wretched season, Bellinger will need to play a significant role in that. He overcame a slow start to the year and is now batting .280/.339/.458 with six doubles, two triples, three home runs and 12 RBI.
However, he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and left five men on base in Monday’s loss to the Diamondbacks.
