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The Texas Rangers already sit atop the AL West and boast among the very best lineups in baseball, and now they’re about to get a whole lot better. Star shortstop Corey Seager, out since April 11 after suffering a hamstring strain while running the bases, has been activated off the injured list and is set to make his return to the lineup on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Braves.
The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has activated SS Corey Seager from the 10-day Injured List.
— Texas Rangers PR (@TXRangersPR) May 17, 2023
To make room for Seager on the active roster, C Sam Huff has been optioned to Round Rock.
Seager had hoped to return earlier in the week, but a stomach bug kept him out of the lineup for the first couple games of the Atlanta series. He’ll bat second and serve as the DH tonight as the team eases him back into action.
The shortstop took part in three rehab games down at Double-A, hitting .250/.333/.375 with a double, a walk and no strikeouts. He’d been absolutely crushing the ball to start 2023, with a 1.008 OPS and five extra-base hits in 11 games before going on the shelf. Of course, talent has never been the concern for the former No. 1 overall prospect; his health very much has — 2022 marked just the third time in eight full seasons in the Majors that the shortstop eclipsed the 140 games played mark — and the Rangers will have to hope that Seager’s put this hamstring strain behind him if they hope to make a deep postseason run.
Seager’s replacement at short, Ezequiel Duran, filled in more than capably in his absence, with an .817 OPS to go with six homers and two steals over the past month-plus. It’s unclear how exactly that infield logjam will shake out, but Texas manager Bruce Bochy has expressed a commitment to finding Duran playing time even after Seager returns — both at shortstop and maybe even in left field, where the team hasn’t gotten much from Bubba Thompson and Robbie Grossman.