ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers, now on the brink of elimination from the postseason, will play a game of risk versus reward as their half-a-billion dollar middle infield works its way back from injury.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged that the club’s contender status — in other words: whether or not it remains eligible for the playoffs — will partly determine the returns of second baseman Marcus Semien and shortstop Corey Seager.
“Where we’re at will play a part in this,” Bochy said before Sunday’s series finale vs. the Miami Marlins at Globe Life Field. “We were hoping of course to get the first couple of games here and get a little bit of help. That hasn’t worked out.”
The Rangers are five games back of the American League’s third Wild Card berth with six games left to play and have just a 0.1% chance to qualify for the postseason according to FanGraphs.
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Semien hasn’t played since he fouled a pitch off of the top of his left foot in an Aug. 21 game against the Kansas City Royals. He was diagnosed with a fractured bone and a Lisfranc sprain and given a recovery timeline of four-to-six weeks. He took live batting practice before Friday’s game against the Marlins and has ran each of the last three days.
Seager isn’t in a dissimilar position. The 31-year-old — who underwent an appendectomy on Aug. 28 and hasn’t played since — has “been swinging” according to Bochy. The shortstop’s biggest hurdle will be whether or not he can rotate without issue.
Semien, who missed only four games as a Ranger prior to this season, has already played his fewest games in a single season since 2017 with the Oakland Athletics. This will mark Seager’s second consecutive season-ending injury if he does not return. He missed the final month of last season after sports hernia repair surgery. His 102 games played are currently the fewest in any single season as a Ranger and his fewest since 2021 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Despite a litany of injuries, Texas is in the hunt for a playoff spot as the MLB regular season nears its conclusion.
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The loss trimmed the Rangers’ elimination number to two. A Red Sox win and a Rangers loss on Sunday could take care of that.
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