Rangers reel in $500M middle infield
The Texas Rangers needed just two days to put together the most expensive middle infield in baseball history.
They agreed to terms Nov. 29 with two-time All-Star shortstop and former World Series MVP Corey Seager on a 10-year, $325 million contract, less than 24 hours after reaching agreement with Marcus Semien on a seven-year, $175 million pact.
A baseball official with direct knowledge of the deal confirmed the Rangers and Seager reached agreement. The official spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the contract has not yet been finalized at press time.
Seager’s deal is the largest in franchise history – another young shortstop, Alex Rodriguez, once held that distinction with a $252 million deal signed 21 years ago – and continues a startling run of acquisitions that leaves one question for the Rangers: Who plays shortstop? Seager, 27, is a former Rookie of the Year and enjoyed his greatest triumph in the Rangers’ brand-new Globe Life Field in 2020, when he claimed both National League championship series and World Series MVP honors while leading the Dodgers to their first championship since 1988.
Seager was indomitable for two weeks in the Arlington “bubble,” slugging seven home runs in 13 games against the
Braves and Rays and producing a 1.255 OPS. It was the peak to an often-dominant career occasionally waylaid by injuries.
Seager has a lifetime slash line of .297/.367/.504 – an .870 OPS – and averages 26 home runs per 162 games. Injuries limited him to fewer than 100 games in 2018, when he had elbow and hip surgeries, and 2021, when he suffered a broken hand but posted a .915 OPS in 95 games.
While Seager is an adept shortstop, though at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, his frame may be better suited to third base or, with Semien aboard, second.
Semien finished third in American League MVP voting in 2019 and ’21 and slugged 45 homers, a record for a second baseman, in 2021.