ARLINGTON -- Corey Seager ended his live batting practice session on Sunday morning with a home run into the right-field seats at Globe Life Field ahead of the Rangers’ 6-4 loss to the Mariners.
It was the Rangers shortstop's second live BP, with another scheduled for Monday ahead of the series finale against the Mariners. After that, Seager and the club will make a determination on a rehab assignment.
“It was good, yeah, definitely,” Seager said. “More volume, definitely more intensity. It's all good.”
“Every day he says he feels good, I'm really happy,” manager Skip Schumaker said earlier this homestand. “I'm hoping it continues as far as trending that direction. It's always encouraging. I'm always happy when I hear an update about Corey doing well.”
Seager has appeared in only 51 games this season, landing on the 15-day injured list on July 1 due to lower back inflammation. He also missed 19 games earlier this season due to the same injury, in addition to another IL stint spanning 12 games with a concussion. Seager has slashed just .182/.292/.374 when he’s been on the field.
He has had no shortage of injuries during his Rangers tenure, but hasn’t often opted for a rehab assignment. The 32-year-old Seager said he believes he needs to “check that box” this time though due to the length of time he’s missed.
“It's just tough to mimic some in-game stuff,” Schumaker said Sunday. “It's always up to the player, quite honestly, on what that looks like. But it's been so much time. We're going to discuss it. [President of baseball operations Chris Young] and [general manager] Ross [Fenstermaker] and myself will talk to Corey about it. But look, today, it was really good. We’ll see what it feels like tomorrow, and then we'll discuss the rehab assignment.”
When asked if he had a better feel of his injury this time around, Seager did not have a clear answer. All he knows is that he wants to be back on the field as soon as possible.
“I would love to tell you 'Yes,'” Seager said. “Well, as you know, backs are not ... what you want. Honestly, just getting back is kind of the priority. I just want to be out there again.”
As the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline nears, the Rangers remain in a holding pattern with a number of key contributors -- including Seager and Josh Jung -- on the injured list during a critical stretch. Though Wyatt Langford has been on a heater since returning from a left hamstring injury, Texas just hasn’t had its fully healthy team for more than a handful of games this season.
But still, the Rangers (53-52) remain in first place in the American League West, holding a 1 1/2-game lead over the Mariners and a two-game lead over the Astros, with all three clubs hovering around .500. Whether to buy or sell or do a little of both remains unclear due to an inconsistent team missing its stars in a weak league and division.
“I don't play president or GM,” Schumaker said last Monday. “The guys that we have right now are playing really, really hard. That's all I can ask for. As for evaluating the team, I evaluate the 26-man roster every single day. That's literally it.
"I get updates like you guys get updates as far as the injured players. I've said before, you can dream of some guys when they come back what this could look like, of course. But I can't think about that because I got a job to do with these 26 guys.”