2 hours ago
2
One of the top shortstops in baseball may not be available.
After weeks of salary-shedding speculation, Rangers general manager Chris Young stated the team — despite interest around the league — is “not shopping” shortstop Corey Seager.
“While I understand teams checking in, I think that’s been overblown,” Young said Sunday on MLB Network Radio.
“We are not shopping Corey Seager, we want Corey Seager to help us win our next championship.”
Seager, 31, signed with the Rangers as a free agent after the 2021 season, inking a 10-year, $325 million deal — the largest in franchise history.
He has six years and $189 million remaining on his contract, and despite battling some injuries, he’s been a force in the Rangers’ lineup.
The former Dodgers star has been named an All-Star in three of his first four seasons in Texas — and helped guide the Rangers to the franchise’s first World Series in 2023, defeating the Diamondbacks.
In 2025, Seager had a slashline of 271/.373/.487 with 21 home runs in 102 games.
Young said that some of the Rangers’ other moves this offseason, particularly trading fellow high-salary infielder Marcus Semien to the Mets, may have given teams the wrong idea.
“For whatever reason, maybe they thought by trading [Semien] we’d be open on Corey, there’s been number of teams called,” Young said. “And they characterized Corey as perhaps, if he were a free agent, he’d be the best player free agent on the market right now.”
The Yankees were linked as a possible suitor for the five-time All-Star, given the team’s uncertainty at shortstop entering 2026.
After a disappointing 2025 followed by offseason labrum surgery, Anthony Volpe is expected to miss the beginning of next season.
Trade deadline acquisition José Caballero is expected to see the bulk of the shortstop workload in Volpe’s absence — but general manager Brian Cashman admitted he had “no idea” how the position will shake out in 2026.
“You can never predict somebody’s journey, somebody’s impact,” Cashman said during the Winter Meetings last week. “[Volpe and Caballero are] both quality players in their own right, but … I still believe everything that we felt about [Volpe] prior to his surgery, and I’m happy we have Cabby as well. So I have no idea where things will go.”
English (US)