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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Dodgers face short list of decisions for World Series, topped by Corey Seager

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, right, jokes with shortstop Corey Seager during batting practice before Game 5 of the National League Division Series on Oct. 13. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)
By Andy Mccullough Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES – The absence of Corey Seager felt so unpronounced in the National League Championship Series, yet his name still resounded through the Los Angeles Dodgers’ celebration late Thursday night.

In the visitors batting cage at Wrigley Field, the players cradled the Warren C. Giles Trophy, the reward for winning the National League pennant, and inverted it like a luge, spilling beer and bubbly on themselves after downing the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS to bring the World Series back to Los Angeles for the first time since 1988.

Each member of the team got a turn beneath the suds. As they ran through the assembled roster, they remembered their two-time All-Star shortstop, who was back in Los Angeles nursing his injured back. Someone shouted his name. A chant began.

“Sea-ger! Sea-ger! Sea-ger!”

The Dodgers upturned the bottles and emptied them on the floor.

“Pour one out for the homie!” veteran outfielder Andre Ethier said.

As the Dodgers prepare for the World Series, which will begin Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, they wait to see how Seager responds to treatment. He received a pain-killing epidural injection Oct. 10. This week, he completed some indoor agility drills, running exercises and played catch. He was slated to swing off a tee Thursday, but manager Dave Roberts was unsure if Seager took part in that activity.

Seager’s availability is one of few question marks for this team. After earning the victory in the clincher Thursday, Clayton Kershaw will start Game 1, likely to be followed by Rich Hill, Yu Darvish and Alex Wood. The composition of the bullpen is unlikely to change. Led by All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, the relievers did not allow the Cubs to score a run in 17 innings.

The Dodgers continue to benefit from their sterling regular season, in which they posted the best record in baseball. In the first round, they swept an Arizona squad disrupted by playing the wild-card game two days earlier. In the second round, the Cubs limped into Los Angeles, having barely survived a five-game brawl with Washington.

Even without Seager, the Dodgers outscored the Cubs 28-8. It was a profoundly one-sided affair, especially considering Chicago’s championship pedigree. The Dodgers made sure the Cubs served only one season as the champions of baseball, and they did it without the hitter many consider their best.

Losing Seager, who sprained his lower back on a slide in the final game of the first round, could have derailed the Dodgers against Chicago. Seager hit 22 homers during the regular season, with a .295 batting average and an .854 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. In the first-round sweep over Arizona, Seager reached base at a .467 clip.

It would be a stretch to say Seager’s injury galvanized the Dodgers. They reacted with a collective shrug – not out of disdain toward their talented teammate, but out of their belief in their organizational depth. No one player, the group believed, would decide their fate.

The five games against the Cubs bore that out. Called into emergency duty at shortstop, Charlie Culberson batted .455 with a pair of doubles, a triple and a series of nifty defensive plays. The Dodgers did not skip a beat.

“It’s hard to put to words to it, because at this level, it’s hard to understand the type of depth we have,” Wood said. “You don’t see that. We just won in five games without Corey Seager, the best shortstop on the planet. It’s just one of those things where it’s about the next guy up.”

If Seager can play next week, it will have a cascading effect on the construction of the team’s roster for the Fall Classic. The team made a series of moves when it became clear Seager would not be able to play against the Cubs. They added Culberson, along with outfielder Joc Pederson, and removed reliever Pedro Baez from the 25-man unit.

It is difficult to envision the Dodgers keeping Culberson off the roster. The Dodgers require his presence as an emergency option, should Seager reinjure his back. When the series shifts to American League rules for the third, fourth and fifth games, Seager could serve as the designated hitter in order to stay off his feet when his teammates are on the field.

The player penalized by Seager’s potential return may not be Pederson, who played sparingly in September. It may be the outfielder the Dodgers assigned to replace Pederson, struggling veteran Curtis Granderson.

When the Dodgers acquired Granderson in mid-August, they figured his ability to draw walks and hit home runs would add an extra dimension to their lineup. They acknowledged his propensity for strikeouts. Except Granderson has delivered far more punch-outs than hits. He batted .161 for the Dodgers to finish the season, and his futility extended into the playoffs.

After Granderson struck out four times in Game 4, Roberts admitted a day later that the team might have to consider keeping him on the bench. If Seager returns next week, there may not be space on the roster for him.

“He’s preparing, it’s just not working out,” Roberts said, referring to Granderson. “When we get to that situation, we’ll look at it. Obviously, there’s got to be some adjustments, though.”