With surgery in the rearview, Seager (hernia) looks forward to '25

ARLINGTON -- Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, who was officially shut down for the season on Sept. 12, had successful sports hernia surgery last Friday.

“I'm glad we got it done, so we will have him ready to go for Spring Training,” said manager Bruce Bochy.

“He’s starting to move around a little bit better; I'm walking faster than him right now,” he added with a laugh.

It was the second sports hernia surgery in the last nine months for Seager, who underwent the same operation on the other side in January. Last season, as the Rangers competed to make the postseason and eventually win the World Series, Seager played through the same struggles.

With Texas out of contention now, he opted to get it out of the way so he could be ready for Spring Training in 2025.

“He recovered great from the first surgery, and I’m confident he’ll do everything he can to recover great from the second one,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said when Seager’s surgery was first announced.

Seager initially went on the 10-day injured list on Sept. 4 with right hip discomfort. After evaluations the following week, it was determined that he would need another surgery.

The shortstop said he couldn’t really pinpoint when his hip started to bother him, but despite putting up good numbers throughout August, it began to be tougher to move around.

“I feel good, it’s good to be on the other end of [the surgery],” Seager said on Friday. “Just to be able to have a healthy offseason is nice. I’m frustrated, obviously, that my season had to end early, but in general, it was probably the right thing to do, and just to be able to look forward to next year.”

After undergoing the offseason hernia surgery, Seager missed all but the final three games of Spring Training. He slashed just .208/.303/.292 in April, but by the time he landed on the IL, his numbers were similar to his career averages with a .278 average and a .865 OPS in 123 games. His 30 home runs still lead the Rangers; he’ll likely end the season as the club leader.

He said he believes he was fully healthy for the majority of the season, despite the earlier struggles to get back into playing shape. He’s now prepared to start rehabbing and being ready for Spring Training.

“Personally, [my goal for the offseason] is just to get healthy,” Seager said. “I didn't really have an offseason last year obviously, so to be able to just kind of get healthy and get your body back where you want to is something I'm really looking forward to.”