The Rangers just finished a brutal stretch of seventeen games in seventeen days, with the final ten of those games on the road in Houston, Detroit, and Atlanta.

Texas went 8-9 in that stretch, including 3-4 at home and 5-5 on the road. It just seemed like it was worse.

The offense has yet to click, and it’s mainly because there is a huge hole in the heart of the lineup.

Corey Seager is showing the effects of getting a late start in spring training after coming back from surgery. He was coming off what was, by far, his best offensive season in his major league career in 2023, in which he batted .327 with an amazing 1.013 OPS, putting his OPS+ at 170.

Compare that to this year. Twenty-three games into the season, Seager is batting .272 with very little power, generating only one home run and two doubles. This is from a guy who has been a doubles machine throughout his career. His OPS so far in 2024 is .678, his OPS+ is 97. 

But it’s early. No need to panic. It was highly doubtful he would match his 2023 output. That was a career year, and the definition of that is that it’s the best year of one’s career. So, Rangers fans had to expect some drop off. It’s only natural.

But sixty percent? That severe level of drop off is hard for the team offense to overcome. What’s encouraging, though, is knowing there’s an offensive beast in there waiting to emerge. 

Until it does, the Rangers offense is going to sputter. Seager is the engine that powers the lineup. In the recent seventeen game stretch, Seager went 14-for 66, a .212 batting average, with only three RBIs.

This team doesn’t get going until Seager gets going. 

*****

TODAY’S GAME: