SCOTTDALE -- Who is Rob Segedin and how is he leading the Dodgers in extra-base hits? He hit two homers Saturday and had his third double on Tuesday, when he started at first base. His previous starts have been at third base, where Justin Turner is being eased back from knee surgery, Alex Guerrero is out a few days with a knee issue as well, and Howie Kendrick has a sore groin muscle.
If anybody can appreciate getting an opportunity via injury it's Segedin, whose career has been slowed by injuries. He missed a year in college with one birth defect, lost most of a Minor League season with another, and now finds himself as a non-roster invitee to Dodgers camp trying to make up for lost time.
"Just trying to take advantage of my opportunity, like all of us are trying to do, whether you're a non-roster or have a guaranteed spot," he said.
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Segedin came to the Dodgers in a January trade with the Yankees for Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Olson, and he welcomed the new scenery.
"A new team values you more than your previous team," he said. "I'm ready. At 27, if I'm not ready by now, when will I be? I'm confident in my ability."
And finally, in his health. Segedin missed his sophomore season at Tulane with Pars Defect, a stress fracture of the vertebrae in the spine. In 2013, he was limited to only 18 games before doctors discovered femur defects that required labrum surgery and bone shaving in both hips.
Invigorated with renewed flexibility in his core, Segedin had a healthy 2014, but missed a month last year when he sprained his wrist diving into the stands for a ball.
While the chart at third base is deep, Segedin also has experience at first base and the corner-outfield spots. The Dodgers see him as versatile insurance with power potential, as he already has shown in early Cactus League games.
"I don't know if I could have scripted it better than that," he said.