Texas Rangers all-star shortstop and World Series MVP Corey Seager is expected to miss a large portion of spring training after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia on Tuesday in Arizona.
The Associated Press (AP) reports Seager will rehab at the team’s training facility in Arizona as he recovers, which, according to the National Institute of Health, can take between six weeks and three months. However, general manager Chris Young told the media his level of concern is “very low” and that he is not ruling Seager out of the Opening Day lineup.
“I’m not going to commit to a hard timeline,” Young explained. “The hope is that by the end of spring, he’ll have resumed baseball activity and will be pretty close to full speed at that point.”
Seager played with the injury throughout the Rangers’ World Series run last postseason, undergoing minor treatment as he earned his second World Series ring and was named the World Series MVP. According to the AP, Young admitted the Rangers had expected the injury to heal with offseason rest.
“It was manageable,” Young told the media. “The thought was, [it] may continue to be manageable, but there is the chance that it continues to get worse. The fact that he’s still feeling it at this point, became pretty clear that this may be difficult to manage and at some point would likely need to be repaired.”
Seager is entering the third season of a 10-year, $325 million contract and has become an integral cog in the Texas lineup. He has been an all-star in both previous seasons and, last year, had his best season since a short 21-game debut in 2015, hitting .327 with 33 home runs and 96 RBIs.
Pitchers and catchers report to Rangers spring training in Surprise, Arizona, on Wednesday, February 14, and position players arrive the following Monday.
The first spring training game is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CT on February 23 against the Kansas City Royals, and Texas will open the regular season at 6:35 p.m. CT against the Chicago Cubs in Arlington on March 28.
