Dodgers Injury News: What’s Ailing Corey Seager?
Corey Seager is on a path to superstardom. It would seem the only thing that could derail him is of course, significant injury. Seager has accumulated a 14.6 fWAR since beginning his career late in the 2015 season. His baseball reference similarity scores have him on par with a Derek Jeter through his age-23 season. But Seager has definitely been bitten by the injury bug since breaking into the big leagues.
Corey Seager’s Injury History
- March 2017: Seager has trouble with a strained oblique-type problem in spring training.
- June 2017: Seager suffers a strained hamstring, missing five games and returning June 29th.
- August 2017: Seager has elbow troubles that halt his throwing, misses games into September.
- October 2017: Seager is left off the NLCS roster against the Cubs with a “lower back strain”.
On paper, that seems like a lot in a year. Seager still had a phenomenal year last season and was an integral part in the Dodgers winning the National league pennant. Still, he entered the off-season a beat up young man. My biggest hope for the winter wasn’t a free agent signing or trade; it was for Corey Seager to elect for surgery on his elbow to clean up those ‘loose bodies’ found in the joint on an MRI.
The Dodgers indicated in December that he would opt not to have surgery. All seemed in the clear, but the report left many fans feeling a little unsettled.
When Seager reported to training camp a just over a week ago, the dreaded ‘throwing program’ language had resurfaced. At the present time, Seager is able to play in games as the designated hitter but cannot play in the field at shortstop. Dave Roberts also let us know that Seager is in fact, again on a throwing program for the elbow.
“The [trainers] have him on a throwing program, a progression. Probably not very aggressive but it’s what we think is best for Corey.”
Roberts also stated that Seager would need about 10 games at shortstop to be deemed ready to play the position on opening day. Does any of this sound familiar? I now find myself wishing that Seager had just opted for the surgery so the concern wasn’t still looming. Then again, no one knows if the rehabilitation from that surgery would bleed into the 2018 regular season.
Analysis
If I had one wish for the 2018 season, it’s a clean bill of health for the young franchise cornerstone. I have deep concerns about the latest particular injury which has been in circulation since the middle of last season. If Seager can play north of 150 games, he’s probably in MVP conversations. If for some reason the Dodgers fall short of expectations in 2018 – there’s a great chance one of the factors was extended missed time by their shortstop.
