With lefty on the mound, Dodgers’ Corey Seager gets a day off

Hitless in his first two games of the 2018 season, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager received a day off on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers had scheduled this rest for Seager, with left-handed pitcher Derek Holland starting for San Francisco and the Dodgers amid a seven-game stretch without a day off.

“We thought it just makes sense for his elbow, his body just getting back into playing shape,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Seager experienced his third abbreviated spring training in a row. He dealt with soreness in right elbow throughout the second half of last season. He did not undergo offseason surgery, but the team was cautious with his usage. He did not start throwing in games until mid-March.

Enrique Hernandez replaced Seager at shortstop. A day after making three errors at third base, Logan Forsythe shifted to second base. Kyle Farmer started at third. Roberts indicated this was a planned maneuver, and not a reaction to Forsythe’s rough evening.

“It was something that I had already had set up before yesterday’s game,” Roberts said.

Pederson at first?

The Dodgers already employ a left-handed-hitting first baseman who can play the outfield. Cody Bellinger roamed the outfield when he was called up last season, and only shifted to first base when Adrian Gonzalez landed on the disabled list.

But the presence of Bellinger did not prevent another left-handed-hitting outfielder from working out at first base before Saturday’s game. Joc Pederson took part in drills as an infielder, which Roberts indicated was Pederson’s own suggestion.

Roberts does not plan to use Pederson as a first base any time soon. But he said Pederson could benefit from the drills.

“I think that it’s good for Joc to work on his footwork, his hands,” Roberts said. “That’s something he detected himself. He wanted to continue to improve his skillset and his versatility.

“To think that he’s going to be in a major-league game soon, probably not. But you never know. At some point in the future. But I applaud him for the work.”

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes