Corey Seager left off Dodgers NLCS roster due to back injury

The Los Angeles Dodgers chances of getting past the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series just took a huge blow. Superstar shortstop Corey Seager was left off the team’s NLCS roster due to a back injury.

The move comes as a shock, as Seager played during the team’s three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series. The 23-year-old Seager reportedly injured himself on a slide during Game 3, and had been held out of team workouts the past few days.

Losing Seager is a significant blow for Los Angeles. The shortstop hit .295/.375/.479, with 22 home runs, over 613 plate appearances in the regular season.

Though Seager is out for Game 1, there’s still a chance he could return before the end of the series. Players can be added to the postseason roster in the case of an injury. If the Dodgers decide to put another player on the disabled list during the NLCS, they can move Seager to the active roster. The player they put on the DL, however, would not be eligible for the World Series.

If Seager deems himself ready to play, expect that to happen. The Dodgers weren’t exactly subtle about manipulating the new 10-day DL early in the regular season with their pitchers. While Major League Baseball frowned upon that, the team was never punished.

Unless Seager is seriously injured, expect a Dodgers player to come up with a phantom hamstring pull … or some other random injury at some point in the series. While that move is risky, and comes with some consequences, having Seager healthy and in the lineup is a priority if the Dodgers hope to get over the hump and reach the World Series.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik