Corey Seager Smashes Game-Winning Homer as Rangers Star Powers Late-Season Playoff Charge

Texas Rangers superstar shortstop Corey Seager will undergo an emergency appendectomy after being diagnosed with appendicitis Thursday afternoon, the club announced. General manager Chris Young told reporters that while Seager will be “out for a period of time,” the Rangers are not yet ruling him out for a late-season return or a potential postseason run. Team statement and expected timeline Young said Seager experienced abdominal discomfort shortly after Wednesday night’s 20-3 win over the Angels and was evaluated Thursday morning. Surgeons will perform the procedure later today. A typical MLB recovery from an appendectomy ranges from two to six weeks, but the Rangers will wait until after surgery to establish a firm timetable. What the loss means for Texas Texas (76-55) leads the AL West by just 1.5 games over Houston entering Thursday night’s series opener against Seattle. Seager’s absence removes one of baseball’s most dangerous left-handed bats from a lineup that already lost All-Star second baseman Marcus Semien for two weeks with a left quad strain. • 2025 stats: .332/.402/.611, 21 HR, 78 RBI in 97 games • AL rankings: 2nd in OPS (1.013), 4th in WAR among position players (5.4) Manager Bruce Bochy said Ezequiel Duran will shift to shortstop while rookie Wyatt Langford and utility man Josh Smith share time at designated hitter. Texas could also explore a waiver trade before the September 2 deadline. Seager’s injury history The 31-year-old missed 31 games earlier this season with a right oblique strain and lost significant time in 2023 because of a hamstring injury. Despite the setbacks, Seager has topped a .300 batting average and 30 homers in each of his first two seasons with Texas, winning World Series MVP honors in 2023. Impact on award races Seager was viewed as a frontrunner for his first American League MVP award. Voters will now have to weigh elite rate production against a reduced workload if the shortstop returns late in September. Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Houston’s Yordan Alvarez figure to benefit most in the MVP conversation. Next steps Seager will remain hospitalized in Arlington overnight and is expected to begin light movement within 24 hours post-surgery. The club will release an update prior to Friday’s game against Seattle. For fantasy baseball managers, Seager can be placed on the injured list immediately; typical appendectomy recoveries for hitters have ranged from 14 days (Mike Trout, 2022) to 28 days (Francisco Lindor, 2021). Monitor his progression and consider short-term pickups like Royce Lewis or Paul DeJong. Bottom line The Rangers avoided disaster when Semien’s imaging came back clean last week; now they face another hurdle in their pursuit of back-to-back pennants. How quickly Corey Seager bounces back from appendicitis could decide the AL West—and perhaps the entire American League playoff picture.