Can a Red-Hot Corey Seager Get the Rangers Back in the Race?

After a disappointing 2024 season that followed a World Series title the year before, the Texas Rangers were hoping for a bounceback here in 2025. And at first, it looked like they were going to get one.

The Rangers started the season off strong, winning their first three series of the year and earning sweeps of the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels before the month of April was over. By April 25, they were still leading the AL West by a game.

Seven losses in the following eight games would drop the Rangers below .500 and right down to fourth place. They would try to crawl their way back up with a six-game winning streak in mid-May, but follow that with an equal losing streak shortly thereafter.

Since then, it’s mostly been a lesson in mediocrity. Texas would have a few wins here and then a few losses there. But coming out of All-Star break, the Rangers are 50-49 and third place in the division, six-and-a-half games back of the Houston Astros.

The Texas Rangers Have Signs of Hope

There are certainly signs for hope, though. The Rangers find themselves just two-and-a-half games back of the final AL Wild Card spot. They are very much within striking distance.

Texas also finished the first half of the season with a +61 run differential. That ties for third-best in the AL and gave them an expected win-loss record of 54-43 over that time. A similar performance in the second half could result in a much better record if more bounces go their way.

Of course, the Rangers might not be in this mess if they’d avoided the tough stretches from April to May and in the second half of May. That’s hard to do when your best offensive player, shortstop Corey Seager, isn’t there to help you avoid them.

After spending his first seven years with the Dodgers, the former 18th overall pick arrived in Texas back in 2022. He made the All-Star Game in each of his first three years there and combined for 15.3 fWAR in that time.

He also has missed some time on the injured list. Seager played a solid 151 games in his first season with the Rangers but just 119 in 2023 and 123 last season.

Seager has already been on the IL twice this season. Those stints were, you guessed it, from April into May and in the second half of May. In total, the Rangers went just 8-16 while he was sidelined.

The Texas slugger struggled some upon his second return from the IL but was scorching hot in the days leading into the All-Star break. But will that be enough for the Rangers to turn things around in the second half of the season?

Can Corey Seager’s Bat Carry the Rangers to Contention?

Despite his slow June, Seager has been having another strong year by the numbers. His .369 OBP, .470 slugging percentage, .838 OPS, and 134 wRC+ all easily lead the team on offense.

He has been on another level for the past few weeks, though. Since June 24, Seager is slashing .338/.468/.662 with six doubles, six homers, 17 RBIs, and 19 runs scored. His 1.7 fWAR in that span leads is second amongst all qualified MLB players to Kyle Stowers, while his 209 wRC+ trails Stowers, Nick Kurtz, and Michael Busch.