Major concern growing around Corey Seager after latest injury update originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Corey Seager walked onto the Daikin Park turf Sunday morning hoping his back had loosened enough to play. The session lasted only minutes before the Rangers shortstop accepted reality.
His back would not cooperate. Texas responded by sending Seager to a Houston hospital for an MRI exam and rerouting him to Arlington rather than allowing him to travel to Colorado.
Manager Skip Schumaker confirmed the plans. Seager will visit the team back specialist in Arlington regardless of what the MRI shows, because Monday’s series opener against the Rockies would have been a scheduled rest day anyway.
“They’ll figure out exactly what’s going on,” Schumaker said. “Just what I saw today and him not going, I would probably give him a day off anyway tomorrow. But I guess [he’ll return] at some point in Colorado.”
The MRI results were still pending after Texas avoided a sweep with an 8-0 victory Sunday. Seager did not appear at any point during the Astros series. Friday was a planned off day. He woke up Saturday with back spasms that refused to subside.
“It keeps spasming, so I’m hoping it doesn’t last too long,” Seager said. “I went to try and move around today, and there was no movement.”
Schumaker said the organization has not discussed placing Seager on the injured list. That decision remains on hold until the specialist reviews the imaging. Seager had played in 42 of the Rangers’ first 43 games this season, though he carried a career-worst 0-for-27 slump into Thursday’s off day. Schumaker insisted Seager would have sat on Friday even if he had been 27 for his last 27 at-bats.
Corey Seager faces unclear return date after specialist visit
The Rangers need medical clearance before mapping out a return. Schumaker suggested Seager could rejoin the active roster at some point during the three-game set at Colorado, but nothing can be confirmed until the back specialist evaluates the scan.
Seager left the clubhouse on Friday, telling reporters he would see them Saturday. He did not speak again until Sunday morning, before departing for the hospital. The sudden shift in availability registered inside a clubhouse accustomed to seeing him in the lineup daily.
Texas dropped the first two games in Houston without him before salvaging the finale. A prolonged absence would test a batting order already short on consistency. The Rangers entered Sunday having been outscored across the first two games of this series, and removing a regular from the middle of the order narrows the margin further.
The specialist in Arlington holds the next answer. Structural damage on the MRI would push his absence well beyond the Rockies series. Muscular spasms alone could mean a return to Coors Field by midweek.
For now, the Rangers wait without their most reliable hitter. Seager cannot rotate his torso without sharp pain, and the medical staff continues gathering information before deciding on the next steps.
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