The Dodgers have enjoyed a largely carefree season, cruising to a nine-game lead over the Rockies in the NL West with the best record in the National League (45-23).
But the ever-present injury bug bit star shortstop Corey Seager on Tuesday in a 5-3 loss to the Angels as he came up lame when running the bases in the ninth inning.
How long will Corey Seager be out?
He was initially diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain but will undergo an MRI on Wednesday. The team fears Seager could miss 4-6 weeks with the injury.
Manager Dave Roberts said he was hesitant to put a timetable on Seager’s return so soon, but gave an optimistic estimate of “two-plus” weeks.
"We all feel bad for Corey,” Roberts told reporters. “Obviously, very unfortunate, the way that he’s playing and what he means to our ballclub. With what he’s done to overcome two surgeries and get into good playing shape. He’ll get back on the rehab trail and we’ll get him back as soon as we can.”
What Corey Seager, Dave Roberts said of the injury
Like most hamstring injuries, this one came out of nowhere for Seager.
“Just coming around third, it grabbed pretty good,” Seager said. “ Just kind of one bad step, I guess.”
#LABleedsBlue Corey Seager said he felt some type of tweak in his hamstring and will have an MRI on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/AavQbWiOXj
— NICK HAMILTON (@NickHamiltonLA) June 12, 2019
Third baseman Justin Turner added (via ESPN.com): "He was swinging the bat well. That's probably part of it — he was swinging the bat so well he was on the bases three, four times a game. Doubles, first-to-thirds. When you have that kind of volume, and you get hot weather like this, it's almost a recipe for something to come up. Unfortunately it hit him."
What does Corey Seager’s injury mean for the Dodgers?
Seager has enjoyed a nice age-25 season after missing most of last season to Tommy John surgery. He’s batting .278/.359/.468 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs in 66 games.
L.A. addressed Seager’s injury in 2018 by trading for Manny Machado, but he has since signed with the Padres. This means Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez will get most of the action at shortstop while Seager recovers.