Dodgers leave star shortstop Corey Seager off NLCS roster

Sidelined with an injured back, Corey Seager is not on the Dodgers 25-man roster for the National League Championship Series against the Cubs.

Seager injured his back on a slide in Game 3 of the first round against Arizona. He did not participate in workouts this week, but manager Dave Roberts insisted he was “very optimistic” Seager would be ready to play by Game 1. Instead, his name was not listed on the roster released on the morning before Game 1.

Roberts described Seager’s injury as a “muscular issue.” Seager did not make himself available to reporters on either Thursday or Friday. The Dodgers could, conceivably, place another player on the disabled list later in the series to add Seager, but that player would not be eligible if the Dodgers advance to the World Series.

With Seager out, the team added infielder Charlie Culberson and outfielder Joc Pederson to the roster. Reliever Pedro Baez did not make the cut.

Culberson took grounders at shortstop during a workout on Friday along with Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor. Both Hernandez and Taylor primarily play the outfield, but both have experience at shortstop. Either could be an option on Saturday, with the Cubs starting left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana.

Here is the 25-man roster:

Pitchers (11)

1. Tony Cingrani
2. Yu Darvish
3. Josh Fields
4. Rich Hill
5. Kenley Jansen
6. Clayton Kershaw
7. Kenta Maeda
8. Brandon Morrow
9. Ross Stripling
10. Tony Watson
11. Alex Wood

Position players (14)

1. Austin Barnes
2. Cody Bellinger
3. Charlie Culberson
4. Andre Ethier
5. Kyle Farmer
6. Logan Forsythe
7. Yasmani Grandal
8. Curtis Granderson
9. Enrique Hernandez
10. Joc Pederson
11. Yasiel Puig
12. Chris Taylor
13. Justin Turner
14. Chase Utley

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes