Editorials

Will Corey Seager Be In The Dodgers Opening Day Lineup?

You’re on the clock, Corey Seager.

Indeed – with about 20 days to go until the Dodgers open the 2018 season – Seager is still on the shelf. This past week, manager Dave Roberts stated that Seager will see action soon in some minor league games. Then the expectation would be that the phenomenal young shortstop would ramp up activity in hopes of making game number one when the stats count.



Still, until Seager is a full-go in ‘real’ game action, his status is a relative question mark. Many Dodgers fans have speculated that having Seager at full strength is as important (or more) than having Clayton Kershaw.

Within this column we take a look at the timeline remaining, and if Seager realistically can be ready when the regular season clock begins.

The last huge Seager moment. And it was a BIG moment.

Does Dodgers Nation Believe Seager Will Be In The Opening Day Lineup?

When you’re wondering an answer, it’s nice to use a lifeline. In this case, our official twitter account serves us well. We asked you if Corey Seager would be in the Opening Day lineup. Many of you voted. Here are the results:

I must say, these results surprised me. With a decent amount of votes cast at press time of this article, an overwhelming majority of Dodgers fans (around 75 percent) believe that Seager will find his way into the Dodgers’ opener on March 28th.

Furthermore, it’s important that Seager’s momentary return of sorts has hit a miniature speed bump. He’s been out for the past few days with illness, not even at camp.

While this isn’t a major setback, it probably decreases the chances of an Opening Day appearance ever so slightly.

My Opinion On Seager’s Opening Day Return

I want to see the guy play ball again in the worst ways. There are few things I miss more than ‘Mr. Steal Yo Girl’ getting to balls he shouldn’t up the middle and casually knocking balls around Chavez for a mult-hit game.

However, I don’t think it’s going to be in the cards. In short, Seager has too much ground to cover in less than three weeks to be deemed game ready. This isn’t to underestimate the kid – he’s obviously worked extremely hard to be in this position for this to even be a column written. Roberts and Andrew Friedman have confirmed as much.

As badly as we all want to see Seager playing from game one onwards – and as badly as Corey would tell you he wants to – I simply wouldn’t make plans to wear your number 5 jersey that day. That said, this is only a gut inclination on my part.

Call Your Shot – Does Seager Play Game One?

If you didn’t have the chance to vote in the poll – or even if you did – please let us know in the comments what your spider senses are telling you! This is something very important to many of us. We want (one of) our best players in the lineup from the start, and having hopes this time of year is everything!

Leave your thoughts in the comments on if you feel we see Seager from the beginning of the season, and if not; when?

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11 Comments

  1. IMO Seager will open the 2019 season on the IL(Injured List). Hopefully it will be just the 10-day IL unless something has cropped-up(crossing fingers).

  2. The Dodgers will get demolished in April. They have guys that won’t be ready and the schedule is brutal. It will be their worst start of all the recent years

  3. While most would of course want Seager in there on Day 1 of 2019, it is not a death sentence for 2019 if he is not quite ready to go on March 28. Dodgers certainly won’t lose out on the PS and or WS because Corey missed a few games at the start of the year. We all know those other factors that can and will determine where Dodgers end up in 2019.

    1. Of course it’s just another game of many. But it would be a comforting feeling to see him out there and in the lineup game one. I think for Seager it’s a personal goal.

  4. You are right that he won’t be ready. The Dodgers don’t mind if he misses a few games at the start of the season, it’s more important that he takes things slowly and doesn’t have set-backs. We’re impatient because we haven’t seen him for so long, but it takes a while to get into optimal shape. A couple of days lost to cold/flu doesn’t help. I’m not sure how significant the hip problem was, but TJ surgery on it’s own is serious enough that you don’t want to rush it.

  5. I believe he’ll begin playing for big club by mid April. No way he starts opening day!

    1. I tend to agree, wondering why our poll had such different results. Wishful thinking on the fan base’s part?

  6. I do think it’s wishful thinking on most of the fans part, yet I don’t think most of the fans who think he’ll be ready by opening day really understand the complexities of his surgeries and the length of time it takes to not only recuperate, but to get back to game playing shape. He hasn’t swung a bat in how many months? Hasn’t really, until recently, thrown a baseball across the diamond, so what makes the majority of fans believe that he’ll be ready to go on opening day? I mean does anyone want to see Seager struggle for the first couple of months with his timing? Getting in rhythm/timing will take patience on his and the fans part. He can gain that in the minors. I’d love to see Seager start on opening day, but when he’s ready, not before.

  7. There’s no way to get “game ready” without playing in games. I’d rather see him struggle in April, than see him struggle in May. The sooner he gets on the field, the sooner we’ll see the Seager we all remember. This is baseball y’all, not football, basketball or hockey. Get the kid on the field. Go blue!

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