Rangers News: Corey Seager drama, Brandon Nimmo uncertainty, Chris Young makes an intriguing trade

If you just looked at the standings, it would appear as if the Texas Rangers are firing on all cylinders. The club has won six straight, is in first place in the AL West, and is putting more distance between it and the .500 mark. Coming off a vintage Jacob deGrom performance, it would seem that all is right in the world.

And to an extent, it is. The Rangers got a big boost last night when Cleveland Guardians left fielder Cooper Ingle forgot how many outs there were in the seventh inning and turned a lazy fly ball off Alejandro Osuna's bat into a way for Ezequiel Duran to score the go-ahead run from second after he tossed the ball into the stands.

Under the surface, though, there might be bad news lurking, and it feels like things could all fall apart at the drop of a hat.

Corey Seager left the game before even taking an at-bat despite the Rangers' load management scheme

Corey Seager's recovery from a concussion that was deemed "minor" took much longer than expected, with the star shortstop out of action for 12 games versus the minimum seven the specialized IL designation required. His return to the lineup came with stipulations.

The Rangers were trying to bring him back slowly in nearly a one day on one day off type of fashion. As always, it's important for Texas to keep the franchise cornerstone healthy, but the urgency to avoid another injury grew in the wake of Wyatt Langford landing on the IL with a left hamstring strain.

Seager came out of last night's contest before he even really entered it, getting pulled with back tightness before his first at-bat in the top of the first.

Seager explained the situation after the game to reporters, explaining that he felt the issue crop up during warmups

"During warmups, so hopefully it's just a flare-up, and you didn't go out and push it and do anything stupid during the game. So hopefully I feel better tomorrow and kind of go from there, but kind of gotta see how you wake up tomorrow," Seager said.

Seager missed 19 games due to lower back inflammation starting on May 18 before returning to action on June 5. He'd play just five games before going down with the concussion, leading to a lot of frustration and trade speculation. Even worse, he's hit just .182/.292/.374 when in the lineup.

There's no concrete word yet on what the next steps are for Seager. We'll likely get updates today, but it might take a few days for the Rangers to decide whether or not an IL stint is necessary. Though if you're feeling conspiratorial, Josh Smith was taken out of the lineup for Round Rock last night, potentially indicating that he could be called up should Seager be placed on the IL.

Rangers have yet to provide clarity on Brandon Nimmo's injury status

Speaking of injuries, Brandon Nimmo has a sprained A/C joint in his left shoulder after crashing into the wall to make a spectacular catch to secure the Rangers' victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. He was held out of Monday night's matchup against Cleveland, and we were told we'd have more details yesterday.

Instead, he was held out of the lineup again last night, but no word has come down as to what the additional testing revealed and whether a trip to the IL will be required.

Nimmo has been hitting better of late, and his underlying metrics suggest that he's been much better than his results indicate. In a worst-case scenario where he and Seager join Langford on the IL, it will be very hard to envision how Texas's already scuffling offense continues to score runs.

Chris Young makes a minor trade that could have implications for the Rangers' big league pitching staff

The bottom of the Rangers' pitching staff has been a revolving door of late as the club has prioritized cycling through fresh arms to get through a daunting stretch of 15 games over 15 days. To that end, Chris Young might have found another with a nifty little trade he pulled off last night.

The Rangers sent 2024 14th-round pick catcher Ben Hartl to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Triple-A reliever Ben Peoples. In this swap of Bens, the Rangers might have found a gem.

Peoples, a 25-year-old right-hander, has performed very well at Triple-A so far this season. He's made 29 appearances and hurled 37 2/3 innings, posting a 2.39 ERA and 3.61 FIP. He has struck out 30% of the batters he's faced, though walks are an issue coming in at a 14% clip.

Getting him for a 23-year-old catcher who is hitting just .218/.369/.317 at Hi-A seems like a great value, and it shouldn't be a surprise to see him get called up soon.

In addition to the need for fresh arms, the Rangers have been searching for reliable answers among their low-leverage relievers. The lack of production from the bottom-of-the-depth-chart arms has put increased stress on high-leverage guys like Jakob Junis, who was removed from Monday's game due to heat exhaustion, and Jacob Latz. Perhaps Peoples could prove to be the answer.

The Rangers still have open 40-man roster spots, so more moves are coming. Whether that involves Peoples, another trade, or a free-agent signing remains to be seen.

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