Corey Seager back to swinging a bat again

Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is swinging a bat again, a positive development as he works his way back from a broken bone in his right hand. Seager was hitting in the batting cage the last few days, up to 40 pitches per manager Dave Roberts.

That’s an upgrade from the last week or so of June, when soreness in Seager’s right-hand caused the team to slow down his rehab, especially the hitting portion of it. Last Wednesday, Seager was officially transferred to the 60-day injured list, which ensured he wouldn’t be activated until after the All-Star break.

Sounds like it could take a few days or maybe a week after that before he rejoins the Dodgers lineup.

“Our expectation is shortly after the break, he’ll be active [on a rehab assignment] and taking at-bats to be activated with us some time shortly after that,” Roberts said.

Seager has been out since getting hit by a fastball on his right hand on May 14.

Links &are notes

• When he singled in the eighth inning against Zach Pop in Monday’s series opener, Albert Pujols reached exactly 6,000 total bases in his Hall of Fame career, behind only Henry Aaron, Stan Musial, and Willie Mays in major league history. Roberts said he owed Pujols an apology for not bringing the milestone to light after Monday’s game. “To track all that he’s accomplished in the game, on the field, off the field, it’s really hard to keep up,” Roberts said. “It seems like every night he does something positive. He’s moving on some iconic lists of baseball greats.”
• In a National League-centric Futures Game preview at Baseball Prospectus, Jarrett Seidler profiled every member of the roster, including Michael Busch and Andre Jackson of the Dodgers. On Jackson: “He’s made strides on his changeup and command, and although he’s 25 in Double-A, we think there’s an unusual amount of projection left given his age.”
• J.P. Hoornstra at the Orange County Register interviewed Josh Rawitch, chronicling his rise from Dodgers intern to Baseball Hall of Fame president.
• Rob Arthur at Baseball Prospectus took a look at how MLB’s crackdown on foreign substances has impacted league-wide offense: “Early results show a slightly delayed reaction for batters, but sure enough, run production is improving, albeit slowly.”
• A note in Joon Lee’s ranking of City Connect jerseys around MLB at ESPN: the Dodgers will have their own such jerseys at some point in August.
• If you’re a fan of emphatic strikeout calls, you’ll enjoy the All-Star Game at Coors Field, where Tom Hallion will serve as umpire crew chief and work behind home plate. His umpire crew includes CB Bucknor (first base), Chris Guccione (second base), Lance Barrett (third base), David Rackley (left field), and Adam Hamari (right field). The replay official in New York will be Greg Gibson, of 2013 NLCS standoff fame.