Chicago Cubs: Dodgers’ Corey Seager will miss entire NLCS

The Chicago Cubs caught a break as the rosters were announced for the NLCS. The Los Angeles Dodgers left Corey Seager off the roster with an injured back.

Is this the type of thing that will keep the Los Angeles Dodgers from beating the Chicago Cubs? Probably not. But it’s not going to help them any. But similar to the Cubs last season and how they were able to weather the storm of losing Kyle Schwarber, the Dodgers can do the same. Losing last year’s Rookie of the Year is a loss, but this team has no shortage of offensive firepower.

The Dodgers’ and Dave Roberts announced the decision on Saturday after Roberts was confident

Seager would play in Game 1. The decision was a smart one though by Roberts. If Seager had been injured and removed from the roster, he wouldn’t have been eligible for the World Series, should they advance. That’s looking ahead, but with his back in the shape it’s in it doesn’t sound like he would have been much of a factor.

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Can they survive it?

While the Dodgers CAN survive the loss of Seager, it’s most definitely a blessing for the Cubs to not have to face him. One possibility is to have Chris Taylor–who’s been playing center field–to slide over to shortstop. Joc Pederson could then play the outfield as he was added to the NLCS roster after not being on the NLDS roster against the Diamondbacks.

If you’re looking at Pederson versus Seager, this is a no-brainer. Pederson is nothing near the player he was last year or his rookie year of 2015. He’s slashed just .212/.331/.407 with just 11 home runs and 35 RBI. Compare that to Seager who followed up his ROY season with another fantastic year. He slashed .295/.375/.479 with 22 home runs and 77 RBI. I’ll take my chances with Pederson all day.

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The only change for the Cubs was the addition of Hector Rondon replacing Justin Wilson. Rondon had been shaky for a while but finished the season strong. In his final 10 games, Rondon tossed nine innings, allowing just four hits and striking out 12 and holding opponents to a .129 average. Wilson faced only two hitters in the Game 4 loss, not allowing a hit.