Rangers should be thankful for Corey Seager contract after Trea Turner's horrifying Phillies series

After the way the season ended, it's fair to feel as if Corey Seager is an anchor that is dragging the Texas Rangers down. A horrible first half, three lengthy IL stints, and a disappearing act during the final week of the season with everything on the line are all things that rightfully have fans at their wits' end.

Now Seager has five years and $155 million remaining on his contract, and by virtue of completing his fifth season in a Rangers uniform and having 10 years of experience in the majors, his limited no-trade clause converts into full veto power.

But things could always be worse. Texas has to be thankful that he's not Trea Turner. The Philadelphia Phillies were just eliminated from the postseason by their division rival, the Atlanta Braves, during the NL Wild Card Series, and Turner was a major reason why.

Philadelphia's star shortstop was invisible, going 1-for-11 in the series, while also making some questionable plays in the field. The poor series with the bat was a continuation of a very down year at the plate for the 33-year-old who hit .245/.297/.378 this season.

Turner took responsibility for the offensive failings, saying, “I think this year is the biggest question mark for me offensively in a long time. I’ve got a lot of work to do," following the Phillies' elimination.

That's nice to hear as a fan, and certainly sounds better than Seager's post-mortem comments, where the spin was positive despite Texas missing the playoffs for the third straight season.

“Obviously it’s not where you want to be, but just proud of this team and how they fought towards the end, and all year. We got through a lot of things. We never gave up on each other. I was just proud of the fight,” Seager said, sounding incredibly tone deaf in the process.

So both stars had poor seasons, but Turner took responsibility, while Seager seemed to advocate for participation trophies. Still seems like the Rangers have it worse, but there's more to consider.

Phillies shortstop Trea Turner is an even more toxic asset than Rangers shortstop Corey Seager

While it was a disappointing end, Seager still showed that he could be the elite-level player the Rangers thought they were getting when they signed him to a 10-year, $325 million contract. From his activation from the IL on July 31 through September 19, he hit .297/.364/.497.

Turner had no such stretch, and also struggled mightily in the field. His -17 defensive runs saved were the worst among qualified shortstops in MLB by a country mile. His -8 outs above average were second from the bottom. Seager didn't log enough innings to qualify, but at 6 defensive runs saved and one outs above average, he was significantly better with the glove.

After yet another quick exit from the playoffs, there is speculation that Philadelphia might want to rebuild. Other veteran stars like Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber would have value if auctioned off, but Turner has none.

Like Seager, Turner has a full no-trade clause, but even taking that out of the equation, his contract is even worse, with a whopping seven years and $190 million remaining. No one is touching that with a ten-foot pole.

It's pretty obvious that Seager is still an elite hitter who was likely impacted by his bad back in the first half of the season and who got cold at the worst possible time at the end of the year. He's also still a reliable defender in the field. Health is always a major question mark, but you could do worse than having him in your lineup.

You also might be able to convince someone to take him on in a trade, provided that he agrees to the destination and some money is paid down. That won't yield an ideal return, but it's better than being stuck with an albatross until his age-40 season, as the Phillies are with Turner. While Seager is certainly a frustrating case, the silver lining here is that it could always be much, much worse.

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