Corey Seager injury: Wrist X-rays negative after Rangers star struck by pitch vs. Orioles

Texas Rangers shortstop After lefty Cade Povich struck Corey Seager in the hand or wrist area during Saturday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, Seager left the field. According to Dallas Morning News reporter Evan Grant, Seager’s initial X-rays on his wrist came back negative. Although Seager is scheduled to undergo another evaluation on Sunday morning, it looks like he may have avoided a major injury for the time being.

In the top of the fifth inning, a full-count fastball was used in the incident. Seager fell to the ground right away, clearly uncomfortable. Then, without much thought, he got back on his feet and left the field with a trainer by his side. Here’s a summary of the play as a whole:

Corey Seager left the field right away after being struck by a pitch in the wrist area pic.twitter.com/XAfCE01z4S

Josh H. Smith, who began the game at third base, took Seager’s place in the field. At the hot corner, rookie Davis Wendzel took Smith’s place.

Seager will be the second elite shortstop in the American League this week to avoid a broken hand or wrist on a hit by pitch if this early diagnosis holds true. Shortstop Carlos Correa of the Minnesota Twins left a game earlier this week against the Arizona Diamondbacks after being hit in a comparable spot. Correa hasn’t missed any action and has since returned negative X-rays.

Pitches to the hand or wrist area are nothing new to Seager; on a play akin to this one back in May 2021, he broke his hand. That also happened on a left-handed pitcher’s high-and-tight fastball (Ross Detwiler), which caused Seager to miss more than two months of play.

Before entering Saturday’s game, Seager, 30, had played in 71 games and hit.258/.342/.439 (123 OPS+) with 14 home runs, 36 runs batted in, and a stolen base. Baseball Reference calculated that his contributions had been worth an estimated 2.3 Wins Above Replacement.

The Rangers, the reigning World Series winners, were nine games behind in the American League West going into play on Saturday due to their dismal 37-45 record for the season. In the race for the last AL wild-card spot, the Rangers were eight points behind as well.