Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager said Saturday he hasn't had any setbacks in his recovery from two surgeries.
Whether he will be ready to play opening day remains to be seen, however.
“Right now, everything is on line to be able to make a decision on whether I’ll be ready to go or not [for opening day],” Seager said at the team's FanFest (via the Los Angeles Times). “But, for the most part, I feel great. Everything is on time now. And I haven’t had any setbacks yet so … I’m positive about it.”
The 24-year-old Seager played only 26 games last season before undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. In August, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left hip.
While manager Dave Roberts said last week he expects Seager to be ready for the start of training camp, Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, seemed a little more cautious Saturday in talking about Seager's timeline.
“We’re optimistic and he’s done everything he can to this point,” Friedman told the Times. “But until he gets into games and bounces back and plays the next day, it’s just guesswork right now. We feel as good as we can on Jan. 26. And it’ll take until we get in to spring training, ramp him up, and how he’s bouncing back. We expect him to be full-go on opening day, but we’re always prepared if we need to ease him in.”
Seager said he's been throwing three days a week and swinging a bat, without pain.
“Starting to finally do everything, moving around," Seager said (via DodgerBlue.com). "The more I move around, the better I feel. The stronger I get, the better I feel.”
“The only thing that I haven’t really done is take ground balls and throw them across the infield. Still trying to get through the last part of my throwing program before I do that, but other than that, I’m hitting flips, doing all that stuff.
“I don’t really know their plan on when we’re gonna start playing, all that other stuff. There’s still a few things that I have to finish. I haven’t had any setbacks yet, so I’m looking forward to it, staying positive about it.”