The Rangers announced Tuesday that they’ve placed shortstop Corey Seager on the 10-day injured list. The move is retroactive to May 11. Seager is again dealing with a right hamstring strain — the same injury that sent him to the IL from April 23 to May 3. Catcher Kyle Higashioka has been reinstated from the 10-day IL in a corresponding move. He’d missed the previous 12 days with an intercostal strain.
It’s surely a frustrating situation for Seager and the Rangers. As mentioned, he only just returned from the IL barely a week ago, but it seems he wasn’t 100% healthy. He only played once in the past week and the club has now decided to put him back on the shelf.
Since the move is retroactive, he could potentially return in just over a week. Regardless, the Rangers will be without one of their better bats for a while. The club’s offense has scuffled enough this year to force various changes, including a coaching staff shake-up. Seager has not been a part of the problem when in the lineup. He has a .300/.346/.520 line and 143 wRC+ for the year. He’s one of just three players on the team with at least 100 plate appearances and a wRC+ above 113, with Wyatt Langford and Josh Smith being the others.
Despite that, the club has managed to stay afloat in the American League playoff race, currently sporting a 21-21 record. They will now have to try to keep things rolling without one of their best players.
The last time Seager was on the IL, Smith took over as the regular shortstop, though Smith is himself banged up. He missed Monday’s game due to back soreness and is out again today, with Ezequiel Durán covering short for those two games. Sam Haggerty might be the next line of defense at the position while Smith is out.
Assuming Smith feels better in a day or two, he would jump back in there. As mentioned, he is one of the Rangers having a great year at the plate, currently sporting a .316/.395/.474 line and 149 wRC+. Durán, on the other hand, is hitting .130/.160/.174.
Higashioka’s reinstatement will give the Rangers three catchers. When Higashioka’s injury popped up a few weeks ago, Tucker Barnhart was selected to the roster to serve as Jonah Heim’s backup. Heim is catching tonight with Higashioka in the designated hitter spot. Joc Pederson is often the DH but he doesn’t start against lefties, so perhaps Higashioka will take the small side of a platoon with him at times. The Rangers are facing southpaw Kyle Freeland and the Rockies tonight.
Teams are sometimes reluctant to use a catcher in the DH spot, as an injury to the player behind the plate would then force them to move the DH to the catcher position. Moving a DH into any defensive spot means a team forfeits its DH and puts the pitcher into the lineup. Having a third catcher on hand gives the club a chance to avoid that scenario.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images
This contract is not gonna age well.
They got their ring the rest is gravy
Most contracts don’t, but certain teams are willing to deal with the back half for the chance to compete in the WS
Only 6-1/2 years left @ $31.5 mill. per season. What could go wrong???
Seager gets hurt a lot but is still elite when he is on the field. The bat hasn’t slowed down at all.
He’s Freddie Freeman as a passable shortstop. They could preemptively move him to 1B as a means of keeping him healthy—as the Phillies did with Harper. Mid-season probably isn’t the time to do it of course.
If they really want out of the sea, he’s probably still moveable.
I kind of wonder if this Walcott kid forces Texas to make a decision on Seager. I suspect Corey only had another year or two at SS.
Walcott heed my words and take flight
Have to get him to first base and bring up Walcott in 26 or 27
Corey Seagar has one of the more well known and documented medical histories in the game of baseball.
It’s very hard to justify taking him off the IL too early, only to have to put him right back on again only a few days later.
Cal’s streak still safe.
This comment is amazing.
when was it ever in peril
This is the difference of being one of the all time icons of the game and really good player that almost makes the hall of fame. Constant injuries.
David Wright nods.
Read this. No way Curry plays tomorrow.
Who cares?..The NBA is ultra boring and not too dissimilar to a game of “Horse”.
It’s just a contest to see who can get off the most 30 ft jumpshots. This style diminishes and devalues athleticism and turns the NBA into a yawn and snooze fest.
10 guys running back and forth on a hardwood floor while sweat moppers toil.
Degrom contract will be tougher. They should trade degrom the next time he’s healthy
He’s been healthy all year. Why would they trade him when he’s a huge part in if they contend for the World Series.
The rangers are playing .500 ball. Trade degrom this year for good prospects or regret it when he inevitably gets injured.he pitched 10 innings and 30 innings the previous 2 years. He will be 37 soon. Snare some top prospects for him while they can.
You waited two years just to get the guy healthy to trade him when he has a sub 3 era after 8 starts… that’s a Dave Stewart move if I’ve ever heard it. No man he’s only signed for two more years, you hope he stays healthy and wonderful and then you just shrug and move on if he doesn’t lol.
It’s not a World Series contending team at this point. Questionable if they could even win the division. The can get a haul for degrom. “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, Know when to walk away, know when to run.”
You don’t fold them a quarter into the season.
How is this not a World Series contending team? They just need the hitting to wake up and get some health and they are fine. The AL west is not a strong division there is zero reason Texas can’t make the playoffs
It’s a little early to strip mine the Rangers for the trade deadline but no surprise Seager’s out again. Was beloved by Dodgers fans when in LA and absolutely raked with decent D but just couldn’t stay healthy enough to justify a huge contract. We’re talking about the same Dodgers that haven’t had much compunction about tossing huge contracts at notable Ferguson Jenkins/Nolan Ryan innings eaters such as Glasnow and Snell. Those Dodgers. Happy Corey was able to win a WS but past history, and current, indicates that was an outlier.