With their postseason hopes dwindling, the Texas Rangers will be without star shortstop Corey Seager for the remainder of the 2024 season. On Thursday, general manager Chris Young told reporters that Seager will undergo season-ending surgery on Friday to repair a sports hernia on his right side. Seager was placed on the injured list on Wednesday and hasn't played since Sept. 2. Barring setback, Seager is expected to ready for spring training.
"Obviously I feel for Corey, but he's had a tremendous year, been a great leader in the clubhouse and on the field for us," Young told reporters before the Rangers' game against the Seattle Mariners. "His performance has been amazing, and we're looking forward to getting him back healthy next year."
The Rangers have 16 games remaining and they enter play Thursday with a 70-76 record. They are eight games back in the AL West and also eight games back of the third wild-card spot with six teams ahead of them. Texas is in danger of becoming the first defending World Series champion to finish with a losing record since the Boston Red Sox went 71-91 in 2014.
Seager, 30, previously had sports hernia surgery in January on his left side and missed just about all of spring training, though he was on the Opening Day roster. He started the season slowly before getting hot in May. If his season is indeed over, Seager finishes with a .278/.353/.512 batting line and 30 home runs in only 123 games.
A year ago, Seager had the best season of his career, slashing .327/.390/.623 with 42 doubles and 33 home runs. He was runner-up to Shohei Ohtani in the AL MVP voting. Seager then authored a .318/.451/.682 line with six home runs in 17 postseason games. He was named World Series MVP en route to the first championship in Rangers history.
This is Year 3 of Seager's 10-year, $325 million contract. The 2023 World Series win alone makes it money well spent for Texas.
