Rangers' star shortstop Seager to undergo appendectomy; return date uncertain

The Texas Rangers announced today that their standout shortstop, Corey Seager, has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will undergo an appendectomy. His timeline for returning remains unclear, but baseball operations president Chris Young stated they have not ruled out a comeback this season.

Seager began experiencing abdominal pain before yesterday’s 20-3 victory over the Angels but felt well enough to play. According to Young, Seager’s pain worsened during the game, causing the five-time All-Star to leave after the fourth inning, shortly after hitting his 21st home run of the season. He was evaluated today and the diagnosis was confirmed.

“Corey has a huge impact on our team, and at this stage of the season, considering everything we’ve been through so far, this is a tough blow,” Young said. “...What I want to emphasize is that Corey doesn’t want to be sidelined for the rest of the season; in fact, he’s been studying athletes who have rapidly recovered from this kind of surgery.”

The Texas Rangers are striving to remain competitive in the American League Wild Card race, but losing their star shortstop indefinitely will undoubtedly affect those chances. Seager has played in 102 games this season, posting a slash line of .271/.373/.487 with an OPS+ of 148, along with 21 home runs and 50 RBIs. For a team recently plagued by “ridiculous” injury issues, this is another unfortunate setback.

However, the Rangers have won five of their last six games and currently hold a 68-67 record, trailing the playoff spot by 4.5 games.

“No one is going to feel sorry for us, and we can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” Young said. “...Over the past week, we’ve shown tremendous resilience. I’m incredibly proud of our team and players and the way they fight. I look forward to them continuing to battle. We’ll see what happens. I have no limits on what a group of players who trust each other can achieve.”

Young added that, as part of the corresponding roster moves, infielder Dylan Moore, who signed a minor league deal yesterday, will be added to the team roster and join the Rangers ahead of this weekend’s road series against the Athletics.

Outfielder Evan Carter will be moved to the 60-day injured list to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for Moore. Carter suffered a right wrist fracture last week and is out for the season.

Young said he expects Josh Smith to take over the majority of Seager’s playing time at shortstop, with Ezequiel Duran and rookie Michael Helman also joining the rotation.