Major League Baseball's top prospect Corey Seager sprained his knee on March 11, but he's hoping to be ready for Opening Day. The Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop tested out the injured knee on Thursday.
Seager, 21, got his first spring training action in nearly two weeks and made four at-bats in a minor league game yesterday. He didn't play the field or run out of the batter's box, but before the game he tested the ailing left knee by running the bases, sliding and avoiding a pickoff.
"Everything was fine," Seager said. "I rounded first, stopped like I did when it buckled the last time, did other little things, no problems so far. No pain, that was nice."
It wasn't the full baseball experience for the youngster, but it was an enormous step in being ready for the team's April 4 matchup against the Padres in San Diego. Seager logged just 13 at-bats this spring before being shut down and was batting just .231 with a .536 OPS. He also made two errors at shortstop in just 25 innings of play.
Manager Dave Roberts said he's getting closer to re-joining the team each and every day.
Seager is also pleased with his state of mind. His painless left knee has given him confidence and and a sense of freedom as he has had less to worry about in terms of setbacks. He said, at this point, it's been positive both mentally and physically.
His goal right now is to make four or five plate appearances per day regardless if he's ready to run during a game. Seeing live pitching is his main concern, as that's perhaps the most important aspect of spring training in terms of getting ready for the regular season.
The Dodgers will need Seager back as soon as possible due to their recent injury woes. Outfielder Andre Ethier recently went down with a broken leg and will miss 10-14 weeks; reliever Josh Ravin broke his arm and is out for two months; starter Brett Anderson underwent back surgery and will miss 3-5 months; Hyun-Jin Ryu's recovery from shoulder surgery has been delayed, and it's unknown if he'll be ready by May; pitcher Mike Bolsinger sprained his oblique and won't be ready for Opening Day; pitcher Frankie Montas is on the 60-day disabled list after undergoing rib cage surgery; starter Brandon McCarthy won't be ready until the middle of the season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery; and the team will need to keep a close eye on Alex Wood, who was dealing with forearm soreness recently.
Seager was a sensation for the Dodgers after making his MLB debut last year. He hit .337 with a .986 OPS in just 27 regular season games while adding 17 runs scored, four home runs and 17 RBI.
The club will need that type of spark to kick off the 2016 MLB season.
