Projecting Injured Rangers Star Corey Seager’s Next Rehab Steps

Corey Seager made more steps for the Texas Rangers on Sunday. But just how close is he to a return.

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker will tell anyone that listens that he doesn’t like injury timetables because they’re usually wrong.

That’s why he hasn’t put a timetable on the return of shortstop Corey Seager to the lineup. Seager is on the 10-day injured list with his second lower back injury. Schumaker did concede on Friday that the Rangers have Seager on a seven-day ramp-up in baseball activities. Sunday marked day three.

For Seager, that meant hitting soft toss in a cage and taking ground balls at his position, per MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry. On Saturday, it meant hitting balls off a tee and doing hitting progressions. On Friday, all it meant was light, straight-line running and throwing.

So there’s a progression there. But what does it mean when the Rangers return to Arlington for Monday’s opener with the Chicago White Sox?

Projecting Corey Seager’s Next Steps

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Let’s dispense with the obvious — Seager won’t be activated on Monday. But, depending upon how he reacts to Sunday’s work and the trip back to Texas, it’s possible he could ramp up further.

Recovery is always the key part of rehab progression. His hitting the last two days is a good example. By hitting off a tee he can do so lightly to test the torque of his swing on his lower back. After a night of rest and recovery, he moves to hitting soft toss. Now, instead of hitting the ball from a set position he’s connecting with the ball as it’s moving. It tests a different kind of torque. It’s more game-like.

Same with the ground balls. Fielding at shortstop was designed to test a different type of torque on his back. Instead of playing catch, he’s throwing across his body to first base. When he suffered his latest injury, he did so after pre-game warmups and just before the start of the game. He never batted.

So where could he go next? One possibility is batting practice. Seager could take pitches off a machine in the internal cages at Globe Life Field, which would provide more control over the types of pitches he hits. Or, he could take batting practice with the team on the field, which would invite more variables. He could also take a more strenuous infield session. It would be a natural next step.

Based on the injury rehabs of other players, there are boxes the Rangers want checked before activating him. He needs to go through an infield session at full speed. He needs to run the bases at full speed. He needs to throw at full speed. And he needs to take a live batting practice, which is usually the final hurdle for a position player.

Once Seager does all those things — and recovers — the Rangers would activate Seager. That’s why Schumaker doesn’t like timelines. But he’s aware he needs his shortstop back as soon as possible.