Seager takes key step toward Rangers return with back-to-back rehab games

Rangers shortstop Corey Seager went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Wednesday night’s rehabilitation assignment with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders. But the bigger story was Seager playing back-to-back games without incident, likely placing him on the verge of a return to the Major League roster.

Seager, who homered and had a brilliant defensive play in Tuesday night’s rehab outing, has missed 52 games this season. He was removed from a game at Toronto on June 30 and placed on the 10-day injured list one day later with lower back inflammation. It was the continuation of an injury-plagued season that included a three-week absence because of lower back inflammation, plus two more weeks on the IL in June after suffering a concussion.

Limited to just 51 MLB games this season, Seager is batting .182 with 10 home runs and 25 RBIs. Seager, 32, has an .854 OPS during his five-season Rangers’ career, the best mark among qualifying shortstops since 2022.

“The player kind of dictates a lot of the rehab and Corey wanted a couple of games,’’ Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said from St. Petersburg before a 3-0 defeat against the Rays at Tropicana Field. “I think because he has missed so much time, I think [playing two rehab games] was a pretty easy decision on his part and on our part. We give the recommendation, then the player decides how much he needs. He felt he needed a couple of games on back-to-back days to see where he’s at.’’

Schumaker said he got a positive report on Seager’s Tuesday night outing.

“He came out of the game healthy and was ready to go play again [Wednesday],’’ Schumaker said. “That part was good. He obviously had a really good [defensive] play in the hole. He felt nothing running and felt really good at the plate. Kind of everything checked. It was exactly what we wanted to see happen. We wanted all of those things.’’

Schumaker said Seager, a two-time World Series MVP, will have an off-day Thursday and the organization will decide where to go from there. After leaving St. Petersburg, the American League West-leading Rangers have a weekend road series at the Astros, the second-place team and a division rival.