Rangers playoff hopes continue to be decimated by injuries

Any hope the Texas Rangers had of reaching the postseason is rapidly diminishing as the team continues to be plagued by injuries. Shortstop Corey Seager is the latest to land on the injured list, as Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young announced on Thursday that Seager would undergo an emergency appendectomy. 

Seager started experiencing discomfort before Wednesday’s game against the Athletics, but felt well enough to play in the 20-3 Rangers victory (he went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer and a walk). Seager’s pain grew worse over the course of the game and the diagnosis was made Thursday morning, according to MLB.com’s Brian Murphy. 

The Rangers are hopeful that Seager will return before the season concludes, but losing the 31-year-old for any amount of time hurts their playoff chances. Through 102 games, Seager is batting .271/.373/.487 (148 OPS+) with 19 doubles and 21 home runs. His 5.9 WAR on the season makes him the club’s most valuable player by a wide margin (Wyatt Langford is second at 4.6 WAR). 

Texas enters play on Friday with a 68-67 overall record, 6.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West and 4.5 games out of the last wild-card spot. 

Josh Smith will likely get most of the playing time at shortstop in Seager’s place. The 28-year-old is hitting .256/.333/.378 (107 OPS+) on the season, but only 38 of his 121 games have come at shortstop (when Seager missed time with a hamstring strain earlier this season). 

Seager is now the ninth Ranger to land on the injured list in the last month, joining outfielders Sam Haggerty (ankle inflammation) and Evan Carter (fractured wrist), first baseman Jake Burger (wrist sprain), second baseman Marcus Semien (fractured foot) and pitchers Nathan Eovaldi (rotator cuff strain), Chris Martin (calf strain), Jon Gray (shoulder irritation), and Cole Winn (nerve irritation).