MLB Rumors: Rangers Zeroing In On All-Star Shortstop

KEY POINTS

The Rangers are reportedly close to signing Corey Seager to a 10-year deal worth $325 million
Seager becomes the latest high-profile signing of the Rangers after Semien and Gray
The pending Seager signing is being compared to the Alex Rodriguez deal

The Texas Rangers are reportedly nearing a deal to sign shortstop Corey Seager, a move that could boost the team’s drive back to prominence.

According to sources cited by MLB.com, the 27-year-old shortstop is close to sealing a deal for Seager that is reportedly worth $325 million spanning through 10 years.

It was also added that the said deal included a no-trade clause.

However, the Rangers have yet to confirm the Seager deal.

The former World Series champion, who saw action for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2015 up to last year, is the latest addition to the team.

Before word got out of the alleged Seager-Rangers deal, Texas had already signed the second baseman Marcus Semien to a seven-year, $175 million contract and starting pitcher Jon Gray to a four-year, $56 million contract, ESPN reported.

In his career, the two-time All-Star batted .295/.364/.501 with 100 home runs in 609 games from 2016 to 2021 and established himself as one of the sport's premier offensive shortstops while in a Dodgers’ uniform.

However, Seager’s time with the Dodgers was not spared from injuries.

In 2018, the 2020 World Series MVP underwent Tommy John Surgery and then arthroscopic hip surgery three months later.

These setbacks contributed to a struggling 2019 MLB season for Seager, managing to post only a .817 OPS despite hitting 44 doubles.

However, Seager turned things around in 2020 in the COVID-19-shortened season. He batted .307/.358/.585 with 15 home runs in 52 regular-season games.

To cap that off, he also won the MVP award for both the NLCS and the World Series after batting a combined .347/.439/.816.

This performance helped the Dodgers win their first championship in 32 years.

Last MLB season, Seager got off to a slow start, batting .265/.355/.425 through 36 games.

Unfortunately for him, he was not spared from injuries, suffering a fractured right hand that forced him to miss roughly 11 weeks.

Seager managed to turn things around in late July and ended up posting a 1.019 OPS with 28 extra-base hits over his last 56 games.

It was another blockbuster deal for the Rangers, who pulled off the Alex Rodriguez deal two decades ago.

However, the difference between that and Seager’s impending deal is that the Rangers failed to surround the 14-time All-Star with the talent to succeed.