Texas Rangers’ star Corey Seager enjoyed a solid initial campaign with the ball club in 2022. But with MLB set to ban the shift in 2023, Seager may be in line for a massive performance. A recent statistic shown that Seager had a whopping 25 hits lost to “full shifts” in 2022, per MLB Network, via Frank Stampfl.
Seager ultimately slashed .245/.317/.455 with a .772 OPS and 33 home runs for the Rangers. But his tendency to pull the baseball resulted in a number of ground outs and line outs. In the end, he was still selected as an All-Star, albeit as a replacement for an injured player. But one has to imagine that Corey Seager will rebound in a major way amid the upcoming shift changes.
For his career, he’s a .287 hitter. He previously posted batting averages of over .300 with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021 and 2020. Seager had never hit below .267 prior to signing with the Rangers. It was clear that opposing teams had a plan against the 3-time All-Star in 2022.
The Rangers made no shortage of moves this past offseason after signing Corey Seager and Marcus Semien following the 2021 campaign. Jacob deGrom highlighted their pre-2023 signings, and Texas’ rotation could be one of the better pitching staffs in all of baseball. But the team will need a bounce back effort from Seager. He’s one of the best pure hitters in the game when playing up to his full potential.
It will certainly be intriguing to see how the shift changes impact the Rangers’ star shortstop.
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