Seager Not in Rangers Starting Lineup For Saturday's Game

The Texas Rangers are still evaluating Corey Seager after he suffered a sprained right thumb on Friday night.

© Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas —Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager is not in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game with the Los Angeles Dodgers, per manager Bruce Bochy.

Seager is being evaluated on Saturday after suffering a sprained right thumb in Friday’s 11-5 loss to the Dodgers at Globe Life Field.

Bochy said the Rangers hoped to have more information about Seager after he had an MRI on site. He did not arrive at the park complaining of anything more than the soreness that was expected. Seager had X-rays after the injury and those were negative.

Bochy said he hoped to have more about Seager’s potential timeline before Saturday’s game started.

“I want to be (optimistic), obviously,” Bochy said. “We know what he means to us so we’re hoping for the best news we can get.”

Seager appeared to do tweak something while sliding into second base to try and leg out a double in the eighth inning. While replay officials were reviewing the play, one in which Seager was ultimately deemed safe, you could see Seager grimace as he slid across the bag. Another replay view showed him grimacing after he got up.

Seager went back to the dugout during the review, and after Seager was deemed safe Josh Smith cane in as a pinch-runner and played shortstop in the ninth inning.

Entering Saturday’s action, Seager has hits in seven of his last eight games, and 17 of last 19 games, as he’s hitting .365, pushing his season average from .344 to .350. He’s slashing .348/.402/.647/1.049 with 14 home runs, 25 doubles, 54 RBI in 55 games since his return from the injured list on May 17. He reached both 150 career home runs and 500 career RBI in the same game against Cleveland on July 14.

Seager missed 31 games with a left hamstring strain that he suffered on a similar play against the Kansas City Royals on April 12. During that time the Rangers went 19-12 and Ezequiel Duran received regular playing time at shortstop for the first time at the Major League level.

On Saturday, Duran will start at shortstop but Travis Jankowski will take Seager’s No. 2 spot in the order. Bochy said the Rangers will likely approach Seager’s absence, for any length of time, in a similar fashion.

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