DALLAS — Entering the 2021 season, the player who had hit the most home runs at Globe Life Field after the inaugural season of the Texas Rangers’ latest palatial estate was shortstop Corey Seager. That was an improbable factoid considering the fact that Seager was playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
It’s an unusual bit of trivia that could only happen because Major League Baseball decided a predetermined location would be the safest measure for their signature event following the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and Arlington’s new climate controlled building was selected.
In those 2020 playoffs and Fall Classic, Seager hit seven home runs in 16 games and was named the MVP of both the 2020 NLCS and World Series as the Dodgers and Seager celebrated on the Rangers’ home field.
Seager is no longer the park’s home run king but it might not take him long to reclaim the crown as the Rangers signed the 27-year-old superstar shortstop to a 10-year, $325 million deal in a move that astonished baseball observers after Texas finished their season with 102 losses in 2021.
Signing career .297 hitter Seager represents a seismic shift for the Rangers and a culmination after years of searching for a franchise cornerstone to replace Adrian Beltre, who retired after the 2018 season.
In Seager, along with new keystone combination partner Marcus Semien, the Rangers have their first bonafide elite players to help them construct their foundation as they transition from hopeless rebuild to putting the winning pieces in place. And with them, the Rangers have arguably the league’s best middle infield.
After a year where the Rangers received an OPS of .670 from the shortstop position, Seager brings his career .870 OPS to Arlington and arrives fresh off a season where his .915 OPS ranked second at the position in baseball. The two-time All Star has averaged 3.7 WAR over his six seasons in the league with a high-water mark of 6.9 in 2016.
Of course, even with his Alex Rodriguez-erasing enormous contract and top-tier output, Seager is not without his warts. The rub with Seager has been his ability to stay on the field. The 2016 National League Rookie of the Year has played in 100 or more games in a season in just three of his six full seasons in the majors.
After missing all but 26 games in 2018 after a right UCL strain required Tommy John surgery, Seager missed 65 games with a broken right hand last season. In addition, while he is a steady fielder, he isn’t considered to be a flashy shortstop who will challenge for a Gold Glove award.
Nevertheless, with Seager at shortstop for the next ten seasons, the Rangers have a pillar in which to uphold their new high standards. If all goes well, and Seager is on the field, Texas has a perennial MVP-caliber player at a premium position.
The signing of Seager and Semien put the league on notice with the duo costing Texas an unheard of $500 million. Despite three last place finishes in four seasons, the Rangers made it known that they’re ready to start winning again with Seager as the face of that endeavor.
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