The Rangers looks as if they will soon welcome the return of their short-lived star. Corey Seager is expected to begin a minor league recovery mission on Thursday, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). It’s been a month since Seager strained his left hamstring while running base on April 11. The injury comes with the original four-week timeline and it looks like that estimate will be more or less determined.
Seager has had a great start to the season. He hit 0.359/.469/.538 with more walks than strikes in his first 11 games. While it’s a shame to lose a player of his caliber, Rangers’ squad has struggled without him. Texas leads the major leagues since Seager’s decline. That’s partly thanks to Ezequiel Duran, who held a temporary short sale with line .343/.378/.521 during that time. While Seager is sure to return to the shortcut after his minor league adjustment, Durán is likely to have plenty of runs on the designated hitter and on the left side of the field with that offensive explosiveness. .
Elsewhere in West AL:
- EQUAL rookies start Miller mason being assessed after straining his elbow during a throw, manager Mark Kotsay told the team’s pulse (forwarded by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). According to Kotsay, the early signs are more flexor-related discomfort than ligament problems, although further testing should be more definitive. Miller was one of the A-team’s only bright spots in a dismal season. Through his first four major league starts, he achieved an ERA of 3.38 while taking down just under 26% of hitters faced. As one of the sport’s hardest-working pitchers, Miller has a promising reputation, but he’s only thrown 50 professional innings since the 2021 draft due to multiple injuries.
- Astronomy midfielder Chas McCormick returned to the squad after being reinstated from the 10-day injury list. Houston picks more midfielders Rylan Bannon to Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. McCormick missed just under a month because of back problems. Before the injury, the right-handed player had achieved a quality index of 0.275/,383/.500 after 11 games. He’ll get the nod at center in tonight’s game in Anaheim, hitting Saturday against the Angels starter Patrick Sandoval. Houston hasn’t activated yet Michael Brantley for his season debut, although manager Dusty Baker reiterated tonight that the veteran left-hander won’t be far away (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com).
- The angel lost boot Jose Suárez on the injured list this afternoon. That leaves a vacancy in their six-man rotation, a position that is likely to be filled by Chasing Silseth. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that Silseth is expected to step into the starting lineup when the club first needs a sixth player starting next week in Baltimore. (A Thursday off this week would delay that decision.) So far, Silseth has played outside the box but started seven games as a rookie last season. He threw 72 pitches to Suarez’s rescue yesterday and has made more than two innings in three of his four games. left-handed Tucker Davidson, who had been considered for a rotating position at the start of the season, has worked on slightly shorter stints in recent weeks. According to Fletcher, the organization considers Silseth’s move to a rotational job less appropriate due to his relatively higher number of elevations outside of the barn.
