The Dodgers announced they’re activating star shortstop Corey Seager from the 60-day injured list prior to Friday evening’s game against the Diamondbacks. He was in the starting lineup, hitting cleanup and playing shortstop.
The star shortstop has been out since being hit on the hand with a pitch from Ross Detwiler in mid-May. X-rays revealed a fractured right hand for Seager that was expected to cause him to miss at least a month. Seager ended up more than doubling that timeline, missing two-and-a-half months. In the meantime, the Dodgers went out and acquired another star shortstop in Trea Turner.
Turner recently tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the COVID-IL, just a day before being traded. So, Seager can be slotted into the six-hole for now. But it’s unclear how the Dodgers will proceed once they have both players on the roster at the same time. Seager spoke to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and didn’t seem to be able to shed light on the situation, telling Ardaya that the team has not discussed the situation with him.
Being a free agent at season’s end, the Dodgers have no investment in Seager maintaining as a shortstop for the long term. Turner, on the other hand, will still be under team control through 2022, having one year of arbitration remaining. Turner also is the better fielder, according to DRS, with Turner at a 10 for his career at shortstop and Seager at -8. UZR is reversed though, having Seager at 5.4 and Turner at -5.6.
Regardless of how it plays out, it’s a good problem to have for the Dodgers. Both players are among the best shortstops in the league. Before going on the IL, Seager had put up a wRC+ of 118. That’s down from his career mark of 129 but still well above the league average of 100. Turner, for his part, has a wRC+ of 137 this year, well above his career number of 121.
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