{"id":472852,"date":"2026-02-17T00:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T00:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/472852\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T00:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T00:41:11","slug":"clubhouse-toxicity-rangers-all-star-corey-seager-weighs-in-after-offseason-of-speculation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/472852\/","title":{"rendered":"Clubhouse toxicity? Rangers All-Star Corey Seager weighs in after offseason of speculation"},"content":{"rendered":"

SURPRISE, Ariz. \u2014 From the start, they had been tied together as the foundation of the Rangers\u2019 rebuild<\/a>. 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<\/a>, all things considered. Flags fly forever.<\/p>\n

After the Rangers broke up those twin pillars by trading Semien to New York<\/a>, though, a narrative has grown that something had to be broken<\/a>, 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 \u201cconflict,\u201d while another called the relationship \u201ctoxic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe that World Series title was like Fleetwood Mac\u2019s recording of Rumours. The principals didn\u2019t get along, but still created greatness. Then came Tusk.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

Lindsey Wasson \/ ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n

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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? <\/p>\n

And Seager answered it about like you\u2019d expect. Which is to say he didn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are things in-house that people don\u2019t know about,\u201d Seager said. \u201c[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 \u201823, so you can\u2019t take that away from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Make of that what you will. How do you react when a spouse says something is \u201cfine?\u201d In our household, we immediately think: the exact opposite of fine. <\/p>\n

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 \u2014 just look at all the salacious details coming from the Phillies divorce from Nick Castellanos \u2014 but ultimately it\u2019s the more accurate reason.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Semien isn\u2019t gone because of some perceived spat with Seager. He\u2019s gone because the Rangers didn\u2019t win and he wasn\u2019t 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 Garc\u00eda and Jonah Heim. All three are gone<\/a>, and not because the players declared free agency.<\/p>\n

The Rangers knew when they signed Semien that as he aged into his mid-30s (he\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Now, back to clubhouse culture, which was the subject of manager Skip Schumaker\u2019s first meeting of the spring<\/a> and clearly a timely topic, Seager\u2019s reaction was as lengthy and enthusiastic as anything he\u2019s said as a Ranger.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave a really good speech yesterday on expectations and how he sees this thing rolling,\u201d Seager said. \u201cIt got a lot of people fired up and headed the right way. Now, it\u2019s all about maintaining that, but it\u2019s 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\u2019s going to be a big thing for us, just stay in the right direction and keep going. It\u2019s just having good people in the clubhouse, having a good attitude, showing up every day and expecting to win. That\u2019s going to be extremely beneficial.\u201d <\/p>\n

If you were predisposed to reading things between the lines and jumping to conclusions, maybe this would be the spot.<\/p>\n

And with Seager, beyond the production, perhaps the casual observer is forced to read between the lines. It\u2019s a dangerous thing to do. <\/p>\n

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<\/a>. As a young player, Seager had also gone through that process.<\/p>\n

The casual observer watched and saw Semien at his locker after every game, performing the role of team spokesman, while Seager wasn\u2019t often there. Public speaking isn\u2019t his thing. It\u2019s uncomfortable for a lot of guys. <\/p>\n

It would be dangerous, though, to say that made one a good teammate and the other not. While Ranger teammates didn\u2019t dive into the Seager-Semien dynamic for the record, many were quick to praise Seager as a good teammate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does his thing his way, and it\u2019s worked for him,\u201d infielder Josh Smith said. \u201cSo 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\u2019ve ever seen. It\u2019s almost psychotic in my opinion, but in a good way.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an unbelievable baseball mind. You\u2019ve just got to ask him. And I think he did that for anybody on the team. He\u2019s a really good teammate. He gets this image, I feel like, of being a selfish guy. He\u2019s quiet [externally], but he\u2019s not that at all. He is the ultimate teammate, the ultimate worker and the definition of a winning MLB baseball player.\u201d <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Twitter\/X: @Evan_P_Grant<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos: Rangers’ Skip Schumaker, Jacob deGrom take a ride at spring training<\/p>\n

\"TexasView Gallery\"Texas<\/a>Skip Schumaker has answered one of three questions in Texas Rangers\u2019 outfield<\/a><\/p>\n

Schumaker confirmed Sunday that Brandon Nimmo will play right field this season. <\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/a>Kumar Rocker puts theory into practice during first live batting practice of Rangers camp<\/a><\/p>\n

A year ago, Rocker threw his changeup only 6.1% of the time. That number should rise in 2026.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/a>What we learned about the Rangers this week: Welcome to \u2018best shape of his life\u2019 season<\/a><\/p>\n

The Rangers\u2019 full squad is out in Arizona to start spring training \u2014 and a few of them are looking rather svelte.<\/p>\n

Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click or tap here to sign up for our Rangers newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SURPRISE, Ariz. \u2014 From the start, they had been tied together as the foundation of the Rangers\u2019 rebuild.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[7953,95652,363,9895,111806,99,2330],"class_list":["post-472852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-corey-seager","tag-marcus-semien","tag-mlb","tag-rangers","tag-skip-schumaker","tag-sports","tag-texas-rangers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}