For five innings on Monday, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager stood on the infield dirt beneath the sun during a minor-league game. He shifted his positioning in between batters, swept his feet across the ground and mostly waited for something to do. On only two occasions, both in the second inning against the White Sox, did a baseball actually come his way.
On both occasions, Seager performed one of baseball's most basic gestures, an activity given added importance because of the uncertainty about his right elbow and because he had yet to do it in an actual game: He picked up the baseball and threw it to first base.