SEATTLE — Corey Seager will undergo surgery on Friday for a right sports hernia and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season, Rangers GM Chris Young announced Thursday.
Seager, who has been on the injured list for 10 days with right hip discomfort, has not appeared in a game since Sept. 2. Young said that, barring complications, Seager will be fully back in time for next year’s spring training.
“Obviously a tough decision,” Young said, sitting in the visitors’ room at T-Mobile Park before the Rangers opened a four-game set against the Mariners. “But given where we are at this point in the season, it seemed like a wise decision to make a full recovery, have a strong offseason and be ready for spring training.
“Obviously I feel for Corey, but he’s had a great year, he’s been a great leader in the clubhouse and on the field for us. His performance has been incredible and we look forward to having him back healthy next year.”
This will be the second sports hernia surgery for the Rangers shortstop this year, as he has he was operated on in January due to a hernia in his left side, to address the problem that arose in the closing weeks of last season and Rangers’ run to the World Cup.
“He’s made a great recovery from his first surgery and I’m confident he’ll do everything he can to make a great recovery from his second,” Young said.
For Young, who himself underwent bilateral sports hernia surgery as a player, Seager’s hip injury certainly could have played a factor.
“These muscles attached to your pelvis, they stabilize your pelvis,” he said. “When one side becomes unstable, the other side has to absorb it. It’s kind of natural that you have bilateral problems.”
Without Seager, Josh Smith started at shortstop for the eighth time in the past nine games on Thursday.
The 30-year-old shortstop is hitting .278 with an .865 OPS in 123 games this season. His 30 home runs still lead the Rangers, despite not playing the last 10 days.
“He’s so important to us and our franchise and our future, to ask him to continue to play and finish the season in pain where he could compromise himself or make it worse doesn’t make sense.” Young said. “The right decision here was to go for surgery and make a full recovery.”