Corey Seager out 1-2 weeks, Alex Wood scratched with forearm tightness

If there’s a more irreplaceable player on the Dodgers’ roster than Corey Seager, I’m not sure who that might be. So when he left Friday’s game with a sore left knee, it was cause for a little concern.

Dodgers
Mariners
6:40 p.m.
Peoria, Ariz.
SS
Hernandez
LF
Aoki
CF
Thompson
SS
Marte
LF
Ethier
2B
Cano
1B
Van Slyke
DH
Cruz
C
Ellis
1B
Lind
DH
Zarraga
3B
Seager
3B
Segedin
RF
Gutierrez
RF
Hassan
C
Clevenger
2B
Herrera
CF
Powell
P
Frias (R)
P
Paxton (L)
Cubs
Dodgers
6:05 p.m.
Glendale, Ariz.
2B
Zobrist
LF
Crawford
SS
Russell
CF
Pederson
3B
Bryant
RF
Puig
DH
Montero
DH
Gonzalez
LF
Soler
3B
Utley
1B
Baez
C
Barnes
C
Contreras
1B
Bellinger
CF
Almora
SS
Culberson
RF
Perez
2B
Johnson
P
Cahill (R)
P
Beachy (R)

Turns out, Seager needed an MRI on said knee today, and the results came back probably as good as they could — he’s going to miss 1-2 weeks with a strained knee.

With Enrique Hernandez still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, the Dodgers’ shortstop depth is almost non-existent (probably shoulda kept Ronald Torreyes). Perhaps Charlie Culberson, despite his complete inability to hit the baseball, might stick around for a bit.

He’ll be OK, but the Dodgers can really ill-afford to lose him.

What’s more alarming is the fact Alex Wood is missing his start against the Mariners because of the dreaded forearm tightness. Dreaded because forearm tightness is, often times, a precursor to Tommy John surgery. From Ben Lindbergh at Baseball Prospectus in 2010 (via the Hardball Times Annual):

“As Corey Dawkins asked in The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2010, ‘How many times have you heard about a pitcher (usually) complaining about forearm cramping, tightness or inflammation, then coming back to pitch? Then, either later that season or the following season, after it’s originally been reported that the pitcher will be shut down for a few weeks to reduce inflammation, he ends up on the surgeon’s table.'”

Wood missed the 2009 season while at the University of Georgia because of Tommy John. Wood felt it after his first start this spring — a 50-pitch effort — but the team didn’t send him for an MRI. He called the tightness “extremely mild” soreness, which, I suppose, is a good thing. He’s expected to make his next start.

With Hyun-Jin Ryu not due back until May (hopefully), Brandon McCarthy not back until midseason and Brett Anderson out until possibly August, the Dodgers’ starting pitching depth is going to be tested early on. If there’s any hiccups with Wood, that depth would be pushed to its limit.

It’s something to monitor going forward, but here’s hoping it’s much ado about nothing.

About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.