This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
HOUSTON -- There’s still hope that Corey Seager will rejoin the Rangers before the end of the regular season. But for now, it’s just one baby step after another as he watches from the dugout.
The Rangers' shortstop underwent a successful appendectomy in Mansfield, Texas, on Aug. 28, sidelining him for at least a couple of weeks amidst a postseason push. He’s just one of many notable Rangers on the injured list for the final two weeks of the regular season.
Seager rejoined the club in Houston this week after staying home for the three-game set in Queens this past weekend. He did not speak to the media, but manager Bruce Bochy provided positive updates as the regular season nears its end.
But baby steps are baby steps.
“Very light rotating,” Bochy said. “Very light. But he's still pretty sore. He's done a little bit of that.
“He's here [in Houston] and starting to move around better. He’s not able to swing or anything yet. We’re hoping each day he just gets over another big hurdle, and we can start ramping him up. Can't say he can be day to day, but each day, I think, will determine how much work we can do with him.”
Seager was hitting .271/.373/.487 with a 149 OPS+, 21 homers and 50 RBIs in 102 games this season before he underwent the appendectomy. Though the Rangers have continued to play well over the last two weeks, pulling to within 3 1/2 games of the final AL Wild Card spot, they could no doubt still use Seager’s bat back in the lineup.
The Rangers have averaged 4.56 runs per game since Aug. 29, though that day began a three-game sweep of the Athletics in West Sacramento. That total is tied for 15th in baseball over that time period.
But in the five losses over that time period, Texas is averaging 1.60 runs per game, which is 30th.
“He's actually taking some real easy swings [on Tuesday],” Bochy said. “We'll ramp it up tomorrow with the swings. I said once he started getting to a point where he could rotate a little bit better, things would ramp up. He's still a little sore, though, and we're not gonna overdo it today.”
Over the last 10 days of the regular season, Bochy and the Rangers' staff and front office will need to walk a fine line between wanting their superstars back for the final postseason push and letting the young guys continue to keep this thing alive alone.
“You know how much time you have to work with,” Bochy said. “So honestly, there's a little sense of urgency with getting these guys back. If not, then they're shut down for the regular season.”