CONFIRMED DEAL: In order to strengthen their lineup, the  Texas Rangers  and Houston Astros have officially agreed to a $85 million “massive starting Pitcher  upgrade.”

Rangers get mixed bag of Corey Seager, Jon Gray injury updates

The Texas Rangers (30-34) have been in start-stop mode all yearlong and desperately need to steady the ship before embarking on a challenging six-game road trip next week. In order for the reigning World Series champions to stay afloat by All-Star break,  a healthy roster is critical. The latest injury updates will have fans feeling mixed emotions.

Corey Seager missed his second consecutive game with a left hamstring injury in Saturday’s 3-1 home loss to the San Francisco Giants, per MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry.

The good news, though, is that starting pitcher Jon Gray has been activated off the injured list and is back in action for Texas, as was reported by Evan Grant of Dallas Morning News. He interestingly worked out of the bullpen in his first outing since May 21 (right groin strain), throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out four batters and walking one.

Gray has a 2.12 ERA in 12 appearances this season and has been especially valuable for a shorthanded Rangers’ pitching rotation. Unfortunately, though, his return does not overshadow the Seager update. The two-time World Series MVP has been crushing the ball for the last five weeks, exhibiting the elite form that exhilarated Arlington and demoralized Phoenix last fall (hitting .271 overall with 13 home runs and an .832 OPS). His long-term availability is the club’s top concern.

Seager has missed a bevy of games with the same injury over the years and has surpassed 150 in a single season just once in his 10-year career. Texas’ ceiling is dramatically lower without him in the lineup. This is not a good time for Bruce Bochy’s squad to be at less than full strength.

Gray has a 2.12 ERA in 12 appearances this season and has been especially valuable for a shorthanded Rangers’ pitching rotation. Unfortunately, though, his return does not overshadow the Seager update. The two-time World Series MVP has been crushing the ball for the last five weeks, exhibiting the elite form that exhilarated Arlington and demoralized Phoenix last fall (hitting .271 overall with 13 home runs and an .832 OPS). His long-term availability is the club’s top concern.

Seager has missed a bevy of games with the same injury over the years and has surpassed 150 in a single season just once in his 10-year career. Texas’ ceiling is dramatically lower without him in the lineup. This is not a good time for Bruce Bochy’s squad to be at less than full strength.