Rangers' Corey Seager lands on IL, unclear if he'll return this season

The Rangers are placing shortstop Corey Seager on the 10-day injured list due to hip discomfort. Manager Chris Young informed members of the club’s beat Wednesday, including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. Young said it’s too early to tell if Seager is done for the year or if he will require surgery. Outfielder Sandro Fabian will be selected to take Seager’s place on the roster, and the club will need to make a corresponding move to open a 40-man spot for Fabian.

There’s not much information about Seager’s injury or its severity, but it makes sense for the club to be cautious. At 66-73, the Rangers are 8.5 games back of a playoff spot, making them effectively done for the year. That gives the club little incentive to push Seager through any injury, even minor ones. Perhaps he can get into a few more contests before the season is out, but it’s also possible that the club will decide to shut him down at some point.

The Rangers must cover the shortstop position until Seager returns or possibly for the remainder of the schedule. Josh Smith, Jonathan Ornelas and Ezequiel Durán have each received starts there in the past week, as the club has already backed off Seager’s playing time.

All three can also play the outfield, so the club will add Fabian to their options on the grass. The 26-year-old gets added to a major league roster for the first time. He was once a notable prospect in the Giants’ system, as that club gave him a $500K bonus when signing him out of the Dominican Republic in 2014.

He posted some solid results at the lower minor league levels, and Baseball America ranked him No. 8 in the Giants’ system going into 2017. However, he struggled in subsequent seasons and fell off the prospect radar. By the end of 2021, he had topped out at Double-A and qualified for minor league free agency.

He has signed minor league deals with the Rangers for three straight years and has generally been performing around league average at the Triple-A level. That includes 116 games for Round Rock this year with 17 home runs and a .270/.343/.462 batting line. In the strong offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, that line translates to a 99 wRC+. He can play all three outfield spots and will make his major league debut when he gets into a game.