Dodgers Way News Round Up: Kelly, Kershaw, Martin, Seager

The Dodgers’ season is getting closer and some of the players, both on the roster and off it, are dealing with health issues ranging from cooking ailments to serious problems.

Among them are Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager and the newest addition to bunch in Joe Kelly.

So, with the medical update being made available by way of Twitter, I thought this would be a good time to run through the health updates and compile them into one spot. We will start with the newest additions and then wrap the whole thing up with the news that most people have already caught wind of by now.

Here is your Dodgers Way medical check-in.

The tale of Clayton Kershaw would not be complete lately if it did not include an injury that has fans holding their breath.

The Dodgers ace has been dormant for the last week or so with what Dave Roberts has speculated to be dead arm although there has yet to be an actual diagnosis made public.

Kershaw felt something “off” in the first few days of spring and it ultimately prevented him from making his spring debut.

The absence and the injury have called Kershaw’s ability to make the Opening Day start into question. Since 2010, Kershaw has been the only Dodgers pitcher to start on the first day of the year and at the moment, Dave Roberts is still committed to making that happen.

As of yesterday, Roberts shared with media that Kershaw threw a surprise bullpen session of “about 10 to 12 pitches,” and accompanied that with throws from up to 150 feet.

At this point, any progress with Kershaw should be considered good progress.

The Dodgers’ goal right now needs to be getting Kershaw back on the mound and in spring training games.

It should be made clear that if Kershaw does get on the mound, the battle to start on Opening Day is not over. Kershaw will need to make his spring debut in time to get comfortably stretched out and ready for the season before Roberts can slot him into the order.

At the moment, it does not appear that Kershaw is anywhere near a spring debut.

Russell Martin has officially been pegged as the Dodgers replacement for Yasmani Grandal.

The defensive-minded back-stop was a key addition of the offseason and now, the 36-year-old former Dodger turned two time Dodger, will pair off with Austin Barnes behind the plate in 2019.

But, Martin, like Kershaw, has been held out of workouts with an ailment of his own. Martin has been dealing with a sore back.

Until recently, Martin has stayed away from the playing field simply keeping his workouts to the backlots and in catching bullpen sessions.

Martin has been responsible for catching Walker Buehler who is ramping up still for the season and he has worked out other pitchers as well.

Today, it was reported that Martin was a full participant in the Dodgers’ workouts and he was feeling much better than in previous days.

Dave Roberts shared that Martin will bat today and could be back in game action as soon as this Sunday when the Dodgers take on Colorado.

Corey Seager is the Dodgers’ prized possession and getting him back into action and ready for the regular season has been the moment everyone has been waiting for.

The process of getting him back into action, however, was slowed down a bit and to the delight of just about everyone, it had nothing to do with his arm.

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Seager came down with flu-like symptoms a few days ago and has not been in camp as a result.

The 23-year-old shortstop has been taking swings already and has thrown from distances of up to 120 feet.

The young superstar has been waiting to return to action and, unless something else comes up before then, he will do that tomorrow.

Seager’s return feels paramount on a Clayton Kershaw level. If he is not ready for the start of the regular season, the roster stretching the Dodgers will need to do is uncomfortable. The middle of the infield would be a two position platoon with the reps going to Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor as the did for a while last year.

If Seager is not ready for the start of the year, it is not bad enough that there needs to be a rush. Seager’s longterm health is obviously the priority but getting him back sooner rather than later allows for the team to use Hernandez and Taylor as second baseman and outfielders rather than covering all three holes.

The illness is not a big deal. His return from the elbow surgery is.

Leaving the unhealthy behind, the Dodgers take on the Royals tonight at 6:05 p.m. PST. Hyun-Jin Ryu will start the game for LA with Stetson Allie, Dennis Santana and Kevin Quakenbush lined up to follow him.