Rangers should not worry about struggling Corey Seager

This is not the Corey Seager Texas Rangers fans are used to.

Seager had been a franchise-changing signing as a free agent. The power-hitting shortstop with a solid glove immediately made an impact in the middle of the Rangers lineup and on the field. 

He was even the all-time leader in home runs at Globe Life Field for a time despite playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers for seven seasons. Thanks to an impressive showing during the 2020 postseason (the Rangers' home stadium hosted the NLCS and World Series during the COVID-19-shortened campaign), he earned the NLCS and World Series MVPs for his performance.

He lived up to that billing in his first two years with Texas. Seager had posted a .281/.350/.530 batting line in 1,199 plate appearances, hitting 66 homers and 66 doubles. He was a two-time All-Star and helped the Rangers to their first World Series title in franchise history in 2023 and was bestowed his second World Series MVP. Seager was everything the club could have hoped for.

After finishing behind Shohei Ohtani in the 2023 AL MVP voting, Seager's 2024 season has not gone as anyone would have imagined. He has slashed .219/.305/.289 in 128 plate appearances with just two homers and two doubles entering Friday. He has been mired in a 3-for-41 slump, although Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reported that Seager said he is fine physically. Instead, the 30-year-old attributed it to "not getting enough hits."

While that is a simplistic explanation, Seager has been unlucky at the plate. His .256 batting average on balls in play (BAbip) is not only far below his career mark of .318 but also the league average of .293. Seager is still hitting the ball well, with Statcast projecting an expected .266 average and .474 slugging percentage. His batted ball metrics are predominantly positive. Seager's slump may just be a matter of bad luck.