Texas Rangers to Manage Playing Time for Corey Seager

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager could re-aggravate his thumb injury, said manager Bruce Bochy, meaning the team needs to manage his playing time.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager wasn’t in the starting lineup for Sunday’s 6-0 win over the Miami Marlins.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said that Seager could have played. But less than a week off of returning from his sprained thumb, the Rangers want to manage and monitor Seager closely.

“We’re going to try and keep this thing under control (the thumb),” Bochy said. “It’s a pretty big injury and it’s really amazing what he’s done with it.”

What Seager has done since his return on Tuesday is pick up right where he left off. Since coming off the injured list he is 5-for-16 (.313) with three home runs and six RBI, with three games at shortstop and one game at designated hitter.

Seager hit a home run in his first at-bat after returning from the injured list and hit home runs in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.

For the season, he’s batting .348 with 18 home runs and 64 RBI.

That’s all the more season for the Rangers to monitor Seager closely.

“I just don’t want to get to the point where we end up losing him for a while,” Bochy said.

Seager went on the injured list for more than a month with a hamstring injury in April. With third baseman Josh Jung facing a fractured left thumb, suffered on Sunday, and catcher Jonah Heim trying to recover from a left wrist injury, managing Seager’s availability becomes more imperative.

Seager sprained the thumb while sliding into second base against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 21 and went on the injured list the next day. He was a surprise addition to the starting lineup on Wednesday after a batting practice session in which he had no issues.

Still, his right hand is his throwing hand, and when he returned he handled the game’s first three chances in the field. That is bound to take a toll.

The training staff has told both Bochy and Seager that there is a likelihood the injury could be re-aggravated and that he’ll require day-to-day monitoring.

Hence the day off on Sunday. And perhaps more to come. Bochy said that’s not something Seager is going to like, but it’s Bochy’s call to make.

“You have to do it because he’s never, ever going to tell you that he can’t go,” Bochy said. “So this is where I rely on the training staff, the medical staff, just to let me know where guys are. But I can promise you he’s not going to say that he can’t go. That’s just who he is.”

The Rangers are in Oakland for a three-game series starting on Monday.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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