ARLINGTON, Texas — As expected, the Rangers placed Corey Seager on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, a day after he strained his left hamstring running out a double.
General manager Chris Young confirmed a Grade 2 strain for Seager and indicated he would likely miss at least four weeks.
The Rangers activated Leody Taveras from the IL to replace Seager on the roster and Josh Smith will be the primary replacement in the field. Ezequiel Duran will also get some time at shortstop. Taveras, who hit a grand slam Tuesday while on his rehab assignment was in the starting lineup in center field Wednesday.
But Young also acknowledged the obvious.
“You don’t replace a player of Corey Seager’s caliber,” he said. “Every club is going to go through injuries and we knew something like this would happen. We didn’t know when or to whom, but it’s an opportunity for guys to step up. We feel like we have good depth and versatility in the infield with Smith and Duran. And certainly we are excited to see more of them and fill the void as best we can.”
On Wednesday, the Rangers swapped Smith out for Seager in the No. 2 batting spot, opting not to move around anybody else in the top half of the lineup. Smith does not have Seager’s power potential, but does have on-base ability.
Seager, who hit 33 homers last season, had gone 3 for 4 with a walk and his first homer of the season in Monday’s series opener.
He took a walk in the first inning Tuesday then singled and eventually scored in the third. In the fifth, with Kansas City sliding an outfielder into the short right field hole to effectively shift him, Seager lined a ball the opposite way to a vacated left field for what seemed like an easy double. Midway between first and second his leg caught, and he grabbed back at it before exiting the game.
