Seager back, Trea in fold -- what's plan at SS?

PHOENIX -- When Andrew Friedman discussed the Dodgers' blockbuster Trade Deadline deal with the Nationals on Friday, the president of baseball operations referred to both Corey Seager and the newly acquired Trea Turner as "premier shortstops."

Of course, there can only be one shortstop on the field at a time. That could create a problem -- one that’s good to have, but one that will need to be solved by the Dodgers, nonetheless.

How will Seager and Turner fit in the same lineup? Seager knows where he’d prefer to be.

"I’d like to play shortstop, I want to play shortstop, but we’ll see where it goes,” said Seager, who was activated from the 60-day injured list ahead of Friday's series opener at Arizona.

But Seager also knows this isn’t his decision. And for now, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts isn't mapping out his exact lineup construction.

Turner has yet to join the team as he's been out due to a positive COVID-19 test. When he's ready to return, Los Angeles will figure out its defensive alignment.

"I want to talk to Trea. Corey’s been our shortstop for many years,” Roberts said. “Trea is right there in that same caliber of a very small [number of] shortstops. So I’m going to talk to him and kind of figure out where the best fit is for him and our club. But this guy can do so many things on a baseball field. Right now, he’s a Dodger, Corey’s a Dodger, it’s about winning and we’ll put the pieces together.”

Seager returned to the Dodgers on Friday after missing 3 1/2 months due to a right hand fracture. He then made his 533rd career start at shortstop. The only other defensive position he’s played in his career is third base, where he spent 39 2/3 innings over six games as a rookie in 2015.

Turner has a bit more experience moving around the diamond. While most of his career has been at shortstop (531 starts), he’s spent some time at second base (31) and center field (44) in the past. But he hasn’t played either of those positions since 2016.

Even though they have the same primary position, Seager said he’s excited for Turner’s arrival because of the impact he’ll likely have on the Dodgers’ lineup as the team seeks its second straight World Series championship.

Seager is a free agent at the end of the season, while Turner is under team control through the end of 2022. But the long-term future -- and where he could be next year and beyond -- isn’t on Seager’s mind at the moment.

"It’s not something that you really think about,” Seager said. “You’re just excited to add a good piece like [Turner]. We’re adding a couple good pieces to this team, and it’s really going to help us down the stretch.”

Seager was also happy to be back in the lineup after an absence that was longer than expected. He said he had several minor setbacks during his recovery, with some irritation and soreness in his hand extending his stint on the injured list.

After playing three simulated games at Camelback Ranch earlier this week, Seager felt ready to go and rejoined the Dodgers without going on a Minor League rehab assignment.

“You don’t want to come back for a game and then something happens. It was one of those things that it didn’t respond exactly how we were hoping,” Seager said. “It was very frustrating. I got close a couple times and played some games, and it wasn’t right. You want to be right when you go out there. It was unfortunate, but we’re ready now.”