ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers will likely need to finish this season without their ironman middle infielder.
Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien is expected to miss the next four-to-six weeks with a fractured third metatarsal bone and a Lisfranc sprain in his left foot. Semien, who fouled a ball off of the top of his foot in Thursday’s loss to the Kansas City Royals, met with a foot specialist Sunday after a series of X-rays, MRIs and CAT scans did not reveal a diagnosis.
The recovery timeline almost guarantees that the Rangers, who have just over a month left to play in the regular season, will need to qualify for the postseason in order for Semien to have a chance to play again this calendar year.
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“Hopefully we get back in this race and we’ll see where we’re at by that time,” Semien said. “I’m going to be watching for a little while here.”
Semien avoided a Lisfranc fracture, which can take up to a year to recover from, and does not need surgery at this time. He will likely be sidelined, though, as the Rangers continue a playoff push. Texas swept the Cleveland Guardians Sunday to pull within four games of the Seattle Mariners for the third and final American League Wild Card berth.
“It’s going to be some time,” Semien said. “I think what I can do is watch the games, help the guys and do my part and do what I can.”
The Rangers placed Semien on the injured list Saturday after the pain in his foot did not relent after a day of rest. The 34-year-old had not taken a trip to the injured list since April 15, 2017 and hadn’t missed more than three games in any full season since that year.
He had missed just six games in four seasons with the Rangers prior to this foot injury. He’s played in a league-high 1,219 games since he returned from his last injured list stint on July 6, 2017
Semien, who slashed .230/.305/.364 in his first 127 games this year, was in the midst of the worst offensive season of his career before the foot injury and had only regressed even further since the All-Star break.
The Rangers played rookie Cody Freeman at second base in Saturday’s win vs. the Guardians and used utility infielder Ezequiel Duran there Sunday. Freeman hit a two-run home run Saturday and Duran, who has slashed .378/.404/.467 in August, scored a run Sunday. Both are expected to figure into the second base equation with Semien sidelined alongside super utility man Josh Smith.
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