Corey

Seager

The Rangers aren’t going to rush either of their veteran franchise cornerstones back from significant injuries since they’re five games back of the Astros and Guardians for a Wild Card playoff berth with just a handful of games left in the regular season. Both Seager and Semien should have normal offseasons and be ready for the outset of spring training.

The Rangers haven’t dismissed the possibility that Seager makes it back before the end of the regular season, but manager Bruce Bochy told reporters that the veteran shortstop is still sore from his appendectomy. He needs to make some serious progress with his hitting progression in the coming days to have any chance of making it back for the final week.

The Rangers are holding out hope that Seager, who has been out since undergoing an emergency appendectomy procedure back in late August, will resume baseball activities and make it back for their final homestand against the Marlins and Twins, which kicks off next Friday, September 19.

Rangers president Chris Young told reporters earlier this week that Seager will be “out a period of time” but didn’t offer a specific timeline for his return from an emergency appendectomy procedure. It’s possible he misses the final four weeks of the season, but it sounds like he hasn’t been completely ruled out yet. The 31-year-old slugging shortstop is unlikely to make a significant impact for fantasy purposes down the home stretch, which means he can be safely dropped in shallow mixed leagues.

As the Rangers announced on Thursday, Seager had to undergo an emergency appendectomy on Thursday and will be sidelined for at least a couple of weeks. The Rangers are hopeful that he’ll be able to return before the regular season concludes, but that’s not a guarantee. Dylan Moore was added to the roster in a corresponding move.

While Seager hasn’t officially been placed on the injured list yet, he will be before the team’s series opener against the Athletics in West Sacramento on Friday night. Dylan Moore will join the active roster as the corresponding move. While no clear timeline was given for Seager’s return, Young did note that he did not expect him to miss the remainder of the season.

Seager worked Yusei Kikuchi for a walk in the opening inning and raced around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Josh Jung. He then crushed a two-out, 376-foot (99.9 mph EV) solo shot off of Sam Bachman in the seventh inning that extended the Rangers’ edge to 7-0. It’s the sixth time in his career — and the fourth consecutive season — in which Seager has eclipsed 20 home runs. The 31-year-old shortstop is slashing a solid .267/.369/.476 with 20 homers, 48 RBI and three stolen bases in 442 plate appearances on the year.

Seager tagged Mariners’ right-hander Logan Evans for a 396-foot (104.6 mph EV) two-run blast that gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the third inning. That would be his only hit on the afternoon. For the season, the 31-year-old shortstop is now hitting .265/.370/.477 with 16 homers, 40 RBI and one stolen base through his first 298 plate appearances on the season.

Seager takes a seat with Josh Smith at shortstop to face Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. The 31-year-old fantasy stalwart has been on fire over the last few weeks, hitting .333 (27-for-81) with five homers and 15 EBI in 22 games since July 1.

Remember when Seager was having a ‘bad’ season? Me neither. His solo homer was the only run his Rangers would score against JP Sears and set the stage for Jonah Heim’s go-ahead double in the seventh inning. Seager now has a hit in 24 of his last 27 games and taken a .723 OPS all the up to an .874 OPS during that span. Few hitters in the league are better and more reliable than he is.