Dodgers: Corey Seager Works on Slightly Different Role

It’s harder each day to make light of Corey Seager’s offensive struggles – with Memorial Day approaching. While Seager has shown short flashes of the normal ballplayer we have come to know – he’s still finding his way.

When a player struggles in an abnormal fashion, good organizations find a way to uplift them. Therefore, it’s like a good teacher; a good teacher reminds the student of the things they already know.

Recently, Bill Plunkett of the OC Register talked to Seager about how his manager Dave Roberts has aided him during these trying times.

#Dodgers notes: Move to the middle might have helped Corey Seager. But he's having a good game tonight — batting third again.https://t.co/3M7SMYMC9H

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 26, 2019

First, Roberts tried to drop Seager in the order. The thinking with a move like this was that it would lessen the pressure on the struggling shortstop – a lifetime .294 hitter. Seager said this didn’t result in any hurt feelings.

“I wouldn’t say it hurt,” Seager said Saturday. “It was one of those things where it definitely takes you out of some pressure spots sometimes. That’s something that can be beneficial at times. I was struggling so it definitely didn’t hurt.

“But you’re still working and you know you’re going to get pitched the same way.”

Moreover, Roberts says the move wasn’t so much about pressure – he viewed it as a way to give Seager more opportunities. Indeed, the moved worked to perfect execution. Seager drove in 11 runs in 13 games since being dropped in the order. By comparison, Seager had just 11 RBI in his first 37 games while lower in the order.

“I think moving to the middle of the order — 5, 6 — allows him to hit with guys on base,” Roberts said. “I think that makes him a better hitter, more selective. And I think that’s what’s happened. Being able to make a productive out and drive in a run without getting a hit. But I do see with Corey, the in-zone swing is much better. Swinging at strikes, taking balls. Taking walks when they’re given to him.”

Within the article, Roberts says he’s not concerned about Seager at all. Honestly, one shouldn’t. Seager is too good of a player at his basis to really be concerned with long-term. Positively, he will find his way through this. The cause of the mini-slump does not matter as long as it’s identified properly and the player has the true talent to work his way through it.

With a lot of time left in this season, one of the checklist items for the Dodgers should simply be to get Seager hot before the stretch run. There’s nothing unrealistic about that becoming reality.