Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Friday that he’s more optimistic that Corey Seager will be ready for Opening Day, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports. The two-time World Series MVP had offseason hernia surgery but is coming along nicely this spring and should be ready to go. Seager has resumed swinging a bat and has been taking ground balls and playing catch in camp. Despite missing time last year due to multiple injuries, he finished with a .327/.390/.623 line, 1.013 OPS, a career-high tying 33 home runs and 96 RBI in 119 games.
Corey Seager is on Track to Return
The sports hernia Seager had been bothering him since the regular season. He told Kennedi Landry of MLB.com that went it was postseason, he was able to playing through that it wasn’t a concern. Landry further noted that the plan was for Seager to let the injury heal with rest and recovery this offseason. But, it was best to get the surgery done to accelerate the process.
“I mean, you’re not going to stop playing,” Seager said. “It was the wrong time to. It just never got better and it was probably, partially, a little in my mind thinking ‘It’s going to just heal eventually’. It’s just really unfortunate. I’m definitely not happy with the situation right now.”
In the postseason, Seager hit .318 with six home runs, six doubles and 12 RBI en route to his second World Series MVP.
Health Has Occasionally Interfered To Take the Field
Seager has been an excellent player in his career, hitting .292/.361/.512 over nine seasons at shortstop. Health has been a factor in taking the field consistently. It first goes back to when he needed Tommy John surgery in April of 2018 after 26 games. Since that surgery, he’s made trips to the injured list due to a couple of left hamstring strains, a right-hand fracture and a right thumb sprain. If Seager misses anytime in the early parts of the season, the Rangers will have to rely on others to cover the position. Marcus Semien has shortstop experience but didn’t play the position in 2023 and has not been a regular since 2020.
There’s also Ezequiel Duran and Jonathan Ornelas on the roster, all of whom are capable of covering if necessary.
Seager Is Still One of the Top Players
MLB Network’s Top 100 players Right Now features five Rangers players. Seager was the highest-ranked player from the defending World Series champions. He was also named the top shortstop in baseball and the American League’s No. 2 player behind Aaron Judge. Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. earned the top spot in the National League. He secured the top spot over Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers. If Seager can stay healthy, 2024 could offer him the opportunity for an MVP-caliber season after he finished runner-up for the honor last year.
Main Photo: © Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
