SURPRISE, Ariz. — From the start, they had been tied together as the foundation of the Rangers’ rebuild. A $500 million investment will do that. Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, both represented by the same agent, signed on the same day. They were introduced together. They were considered the pillars of the rebuild, which did work out OK, all things considered. Flags fly forever.
After the Rangers broke up those twin pillars by trading Semien to New York, though, a narrative has grown that something had to be broken, that the trade was made because Seager and Semien had some kind of falling out, or that they never fell in. One report said there was “conflict,” while another called the relationship “toxic.”
Maybe that World Series title was like Fleetwood Mac’s recording of Rumours. The principals didn’t get along, but still created greatness. Then came Tusk.
Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien, left, has beer poured on him by shortstop Corey Seager, right, as they celebrate clinching a playoff spot in the American League after a 6-1 win over the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Lindsey Wasson / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rangers
Anyway, it makes for a great story. Some elements might even be true. True enough that upon talking to the media for the first time this spring, it took about five minutes for Seager to be asked about the relationship and its relative toxicity. Was it like salmonella or more poison dart frog?
And Seager answered it about like you’d expect. Which is to say he didn’t say much. Then again, Seager is never keen to offer the public looks inside the clubhouse. Few players really are, but Seager is more protective of the environment than most.
“There are things in-house that people don’t know about,” Seager said. “[Reports] are all speculation. Me and Marcus had a fine relationship. We both respect each other. We were both professional and we knew how to go about our business to try to accomplish a goal. We did that in ‘23, so you can’t take that away from us.”
Make of that what you will. How do you react when a spouse says something is “fine?” In our household, we immediately think: the exact opposite of fine.
Two coinciding things, though, can be mutually exclusive. Seager and Semien may not have been close. But that is not the reason the trade was made. The trade was made because one of the pillars simply could no longer hold the burden of the weight. It is surely not as sexy as a good feud — just look at all the salacious details coming from the Phillies divorce from Nick Castellanos — but ultimately it’s the more accurate reason.
Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien (right) reacts as shortstop Corey Seager tries on his World Series championship ring during a ceremony before a game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Arlington.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
Semien isn’t gone because of some perceived spat with Seager. He’s gone because the Rangers didn’t win and he wasn’t a very good offensive player the last two years. There were 17 players to have at least 900 plate appearances in MLB over the last two years and produce an OPS of less than .690. Six of them changed teams at least once. Of the other 11, three were with the Rangers: Semien, Adolis García and Jonah Heim. All three are gone, and not because the players declared free agency.
The Rangers knew when they signed Semien that as he aged into his mid-30s (he’s now 35), the seven-year deal would become burdensome before the same possibility existed with Seager. To get Brandon Nimmo, an everyday player who is an upgrade offensively and two years younger, even with an additional $35 million investment, is smart baseball operations.
Now, back to clubhouse culture, which was the subject of manager Skip Schumaker’s first meeting of the spring and clearly a timely topic, Seager’s reaction was as lengthy and enthusiastic as anything he’s said as a Ranger.
“He gave a really good speech yesterday on expectations and how he sees this thing rolling,” Seager said. “It got a lot of people fired up and headed the right way. Now, it’s all about maintaining that, but it’s just ways to be able to help keep things moving in the right direction and not steering off the path; just stay in the course. That’s going to be a big thing for us, just stay in the right direction and keep going. It’s just having good people in the clubhouse, having a good attitude, showing up every day and expecting to win. That’s going to be extremely beneficial.”
If you were predisposed to reading things between the lines and jumping to conclusions, maybe this would be the spot.
And with Seager, beyond the production, perhaps the casual observer is forced to read between the lines. It’s a dangerous thing to do.
The casual observer saw Semien on the field every day taking ground balls, but Seager stayed around the inside batting cage, working on his swing with his hitting instructor or offering some words to teammates. In fact, on Monday, he offered some encouraging words to top prospect Sebastian Walcott before he left for elbow surgery. As a young player, Seager had also gone through that process.
The casual observer watched and saw Semien at his locker after every game, performing the role of team spokesman, while Seager wasn’t often there. Public speaking isn’t his thing. It’s uncomfortable for a lot of guys.
It would be dangerous, though, to say that made one a good teammate and the other not. While Ranger teammates didn’t dive into the Seager-Semien dynamic for the record, many were quick to praise Seager as a good teammate.
“He does his thing his way, and it’s worked for him,” infielder Josh Smith said. “So why would you do anything differently than that? Some of the ways he goes about things, we do things differently, but just the attention to detail that he has is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s almost psychotic in my opinion, but in a good way.
“He’s an unbelievable baseball mind. You’ve just got to ask him. And I think he did that for anybody on the team. He’s a really good teammate. He gets this image, I feel like, of being a selfish guy. He’s quiet [externally], but he’s not that at all. He is the ultimate teammate, the ultimate worker and the definition of a winning MLB baseball player.”
A good reminder that fans and media only see fleeting glimpses of players, not fully-developed images. Making judgements on those images can be deceptive.
The Rangers got a World Series out of the Seager-Semien duo. Now, they move on, holding on to productive parts of their roster and shedding those which had become burdensome.
Twitter/X: @Evan_P_Grant
Photos: Rangers’ Skip Schumaker, Jacob deGrom take a ride at spring training
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