World Series MVP Corey Seager and All-Star third baseman Josh Jung are scheduled to start for the Texas Rangers on Thursday, despite having just played one Cactus League game before the team left Arizona.
Seager, who underwent surgery on Jan. 30 to repair a left sports hernia, and Jung (left calf) returned to the lineup for an exhibition game against Boston on Monday night. It came just two days after both players got hits in the Rangers’ Cactus League finale.
Manager Bruce Bochy said Seager and Jung would participate in the last exhibition game against the Red Sox on Tuesday afternoon. The Rangers’ regular season begins Thursday night at home against the Chicago Cubs, and the manager expects the left side of his infield to be intact.
“That’s the plan,” Bochy explained. “Everything is going well, and the day off (on Wednesday) comes at an appropriate moment. “Both can catch their breath and be ready to go on opening day.”
Seager was battling with a hernia during the team’s postseason drive to its first world title last year, but it had no impact on his performance. The organization had anticipated that longer relaxation in the offseason would solve the problem, but when that didn’t work, he underwent surgery.
Last year, Seager hit.318 with six home runs, 12 RBIs, and 15 walks in 17 postseason games. The shortstop homered three times in the World Series against Arizona, including a game-tying shot in the ninth inning of the opener.
Jung felt calf stiffness while fielding ground balls on February 15, a few days before the team’s first full-squad session in Arizona. He had a lot of live at-bats in minor league games throughout spring training.
“I’m ready to go,” Jung stated Monday. “Hopefully, I got my one little sidetrack out of the way, and we’re ready to go. I feel like I got everything I needed from spring training.
The 26-year-old third baseman, who was selected eighth overall by the Rangers in the 2019 amateur draft, had a stress fracture in his left foot during spring training in 2021 and underwent surgery the following spring to repair a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder.
Jung was having a spectacular rookie season last year before he fractured his left thumb during a fielding play against Miami on August 6. Prior to the accident, he hit.274 with 22 home runs and 67 RBIs and had been voted an AL All-Star starter by fans. He returned to play 13 games at the end of the regular season, then hit.308 in the playoffs, including three home runs.
Bochy said recently acquired starter Michael Lorenzen would throw another bullpen session Tuesday and is a candidate for the opening-day roster.
Lorenzen joined the Rangers on Friday after agreeing to a $4.5 million, one-year contract. The 32-year-old right-hander, who was a first-time All-Star last season and tossed a no-hitter, has been working out on his own and pitching to independent league hitters while awaiting a free agent contract.
“We’re building him up. “He’s been throwing a lot,” Bochy explained. “Look at him; he’s in great form. That is who he is. He is one of the best athletes we have. I believe his arm and everything are pretty close.”
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