LOS ANGELES _ On Sunday, for the first time in almost two weeks, Corey Seager was an active baseball player. He took batting practice. He took ground balls. He took a seat before a group of reporters, happily.
"I haven't smiled in a while," Seager said. "It's nice to smile again."
The back strain that sidelined Seager for the National League Championship Series appears healed. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he is "very confident" Seager will be back at shortstop for Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday.
"He said he felt as good he has in weeks," Roberts said.
Seager remained in Los Angeles for treatment while the Dodgers were in Chicago for the final three games of the NLCS. He has moved out of his summer rental home, so he watched the Dodgers clinch their World Series berth from a Los Angeles hotel room.
The normally reserved Seager particularly enjoyed the grand slam hit by Enrique Hernandez.
"That was probably one of the few times I screamed in my hotel room," Seager said.
Roberts would not say who would be removed from the Dodgers' roster to make room for Seager. He did indicate the Dodgers might keep Charlie Culberson, who replaced Seager on the NLCS roster, as insurance, or an option should the Dodgers wish to use Seager as a designated hitter in Houston.
Culberson hit .455 in the NLCS but said he would be delighted to see Seager reclaim shortstop.
"We need Corey out there," Culberson said. "He's an MVP-type player."
The Dodgers led the major leagues in payroll, but their front-office creativity and steadfast meritocracy reveals itself in interesting ways. Of the nine players in Tuesday's projected starting lineup, five made less than $1 million this season: Seager, first baseman Cody Bellinger, outfielders Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor, and catcher Austin Barnes.
On the other hand, the two inactive pitchers who threw live batting practice to Seager on Sunday made a combined $17 million this season: Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
