Corey Seager (hip) hits injured list, 2024 return to Texas Rangers uncertain

The two-time World Series MVP has yet to undergo any testing on a nagging injury, but the Rangers want to play things cautiously.

ARLINGTON — A day off Friday for Corey Seager didn’t seem unusual after the Texas Rangers had played three games in two days at Chicago and traveled home Thursday.

His day at designated hitter Monday seemed in line with the Rangers’ plans to let some younger players man shortstop. But the day off Tuesday sparked some questions about Seager’s health, and on Wednesday he landed on the 10-day injured list.

The culprit is a bothersome right hip, and the timeline for Seager’s return will be known in a few days after he undergoes imaging. He could return for the last two weeks of the season.

“I hope so,” he said. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out.”

The Rangers are protecting their franchise player, who still has seven years remaining on his contract, after watching how his offseason unfolded last year.

Seager played late last season and throughout the playoffs with what was later revealed to be a sports hernia. He tried to avoid surgery but couldn’t, and he underwent surgery Jan. 30.

He missed almost all of spring training, returning for the final game in Arizona before camp broke. He struggled in April, hitting only two home runs and enduring a 3-for-47 skid that dropped his average to a season-low .217.

Beginning with a two-hit game May 3, though, Seager batted .296 with a .950 OPS. If he doesn’t play again in 2024, he will finish with 30 home runs, a .278 average and an .864 OPS.

“As good as he is, you’ve got to be somewhat healthy to hit 30 home runs, especially considering his start,” Bochy said. “It was awful, and he’ll tell you that.”

The Rangers and Seager hope that tending to the hip injury now will allow him to have a more normal offseason and more reps in spring training.

“You can’t miss two offseasons,” he said. “You’ve got to be healthy and get back into working out. I didn’t really have a buildup coming into the season, so it’s something that you need to have.”

The injury is a blow to the Rangers’ struggling offense. They planned to purchase the Triple A contract of outfielder Sandro Fabian, a right-handed hitter who pounds left-handed pitching. To make room for Fabian on the 40-man roster, the Rangers were expected to place Jon Gray or Tyler Mahle on the 60-day injured list.

Bochy said that Josh Smith would be the primary fill-in at shortstop, and Ezequiel Duran and Jonathan Ornelas could also see time there.

Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com