Kyle Seager to miss far more time than initially expected

A few days ago Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager underwent surgery to repair a tendon in his left hand which he injured diving for a ball during a game last week. It was reported at the time that he was expected to be out through April.

Nope. Try June. That’s the report from Greg Johns of MLB.com who spoke with GM Jerry Dipoto who said that Seager will not even swing a bat for eight weeks, pushing his return to game action back even farther:

“He won’t be able to pick up a bat until the eighth week. It’s hard to believe we’ll shut him down for two-plus months and he’ll be able to hit MLB pitching in two weeks. So I suspect we’re probably looking more toward 10-12 weeks.”

That timetable puts Seager’s return in June, assuming no complications during recovery.

Seager, a Best Shape of His Life All-Star, was hoping for a bounce back season following a disappointing 2018 campaign in which he hit .221/.273/.400 with 22 home runs and 78 RBI in 630 plate appearances. Now he’ll endure the first season in which he’s not played in at least 154 games since 2011, which was his rookie season.

Tough break.

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