Dodgers: Ranking most important injury returns over next few weeks

2. Corey Seager

The Dodgers haven’t skipped a beat during Corey Seager’s absence, so that means he doesn’t qualify for the No. 1 spot.

For context, Seager has been on the injured list since mid-May due to a right hand fracture he suffered after getting hit by a pitch against the Marlins. If you can believe it, the Dodgers rattled off eight (!) consecutive wins after Seager went down, and they’re 22-9 overall during that span.

That obviously isn’t to say the Dodgers are better without Seager — they literally wouldn’t have won the World Series last season if not for his postseason heroics — but they’ve managed to weather the storm during his absence, and there’s something to be said for that.

Dodgers SS Corey Seager is making progress in his recovery from a hand fracture.

The reigning World Series MVP has been out longer than Los Angeles expected, but he took batting practice on Friday for the first time since he hitting the shelf. Seager was already taking grounders and throwing with no restraints, and he’s progressed from hitting tennis balls to rejoining the team for live BP within a week’s time.

In other words, a rehab assignment is on the horizon for Seager, who was hitting .265/361/.422 with four home runs, 22 RBI and 20 runs scored over 37 games before the freak injury.