Seager could finally return to the lineup this weekend

SAN FRANCISCO >> The Dodgers could be adding a couple of impact players at (or right after) Friday’s trade deadline.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said injured shortstop Corey Seager has been taking at-bats in simulated games at Camelback Ranch this week without any soreness in his right hand. He could be ready to come off the injured list this weekend when the Dodgers are in Arizona to play the Diamondbacks.

“Our hope is there is going to be an activation this weekend,” Roberts said Wednesday.

“Just having him in there, the presence, in tune with his swing, the defense, getting him in there to play short — the net is a nobrainer. I don’t know what day, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, but I would expect this next series. I’m hopeful he will be activated.”

Seager was hit by a pitch on May 15 and suffered a fractured bone in his right hand. As he ramped up his activity level, the 2020 World Series and NLCS MVP experienced soreness in his injured hand, delaying his return. Roberts said Seager has had no issues over the past “five to seven days.”

“He’s felt really good and recovering the right way,” Roberts said.

The early prognosis for Seager’s return started at four to six weeks and then was expanded to a more realistic six to eight weeks. If he returns this weekend, it will have been 11 weeks.

“Considerably (longer than expected) and I think Corey would say the same thing,” Roberts said. “To look back in hindsight, it’s taken a lot longer than we all expected.”

Meanwhile, outfielder Mookie Betts is also “on line” to be activated from the IL on Sunday when he is eligible.

Kershaw target

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw will throw another simulated game on Sunday in Arizona, either with the Dodgers at Chase Field or at Camelback Ranch.

The plan is for Kershaw to add an inning to Tuesday’s three-inning simulated game “then get him ready for that start on Saturday, I think the 7th, against Anaheim,” Roberts said.

Kershaw has been out since July 3 with inflammation in his pitching elbow. The Dodgers used the elbow issue as an excuse to give Kershaw a mid-season break. After throwing just 58-1/3 innings during last year’s pandemic-shortened regular season, Kershaw pitched 106-1/3 before the All-Star break this year (his heaviest workload before the break since 2017).

Trade talks

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has been aggressive in past years, adding players at the trade deadline with an eye on fortifying his team for October. This year, the need is more immediate. The Dodgers could use some help in August and September with a tight, three-way race in the National League West.

“That’s fair,” Roberts said. “I do think we are getting reinforcements with Betts, Seager, (Corey) Knebel, (Scott) Alexander at some point, Clayton. So I still think having a guy who moves the needle, however anyone perceives that, is always front of mind.”

But Roberts said he has never felt it necessary to plead his case to Friedman, asking for help.

“You know what? I haven’t done it yet. I haven’t done it in six years,” Roberts said. “I understand that a lot of things have to happen to make a deal. I just haven’t because there’s a cost to everything . ... Andrew is as good as there is in the game. So I don’t think I’ve ever felt the need nor would I do that.”

Also

Knebel is scheduled to continue his minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City by pitching an inning today and again on Sunday. The reliever has been out since April with a lat strain in his right shoulder, but he is on schedule to return sometime in August. “I think our early target was some time in the middle of August,” Roberts said. “I think that’s still fair.”