Rangers Notes: Seager, Montgomery, Bradford - MLB Trade Rumors

Texas needs a couple of bullpen arms and another bat, preferably a catcher. Corey Seager looks to be nearing a rehab assignment, as the Rangers shortstop took part in a live batting practice session today.  Seager told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters that another live BP is scheduled for tomorrow, and if all goes well, a minor league rehab assignment should soon follow. The five-time All-Star hasn’t played since June 30 due to inflammation in his lower back, and Seager has been limited to just 51 games this season due to three separate trips to the injured list.  His current absence is the second time Seager has been sidelined by his bad back his year, and he also missed time on the concussion-related IL. Seager has hit only .182/.292/.374 with 10 home runs over 219 plate appearances.  While it’s easy to point to his three IL stints as the root cause of his uncharacteristically poor performance, injuries have long been a subplot of Seager’s career, and the shortstop has almost always delivered top-tier production when healthy.  This month-long absence could be Seager and the Rangers’ way of finally getting the shortstop fully recovered, and Seager said a minor league rehab assignment would “check that box” in regards to his game readiness. An in-form Seager would be a massive boost to the Rangers in their playoff chase, especially since Josh Jung was just sent to the 10-day IL yesterday due to a calf strain.  Getting Seager back in the lineup for even a few games before the August 3 trade deadline also gives Texas some time to evaluate exactly where they are with their lineup, and how much the front office may choose to target a position-player add on top of the Rangers’ expected pursuit of pitching. Speaking of the pitching staff, Jordan Montgomery may finally be nearing a return to the majors.  Montgomery threw 75 pitches for Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday, and Montgomery has now made seven appearances during his rehab assignment with Round Rock and Double-A Frisco.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that Montgomery could be activated from the 60-day IL for his next outing, which could be as early as Thursday against the Rays if the Rangers wanted to save both Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom to start on Friday and Saturday in a big division series with the Astros. Montgomery underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2025, which naturally sidelined him for all of last season and most of the current campaign.  The surgery came on the heels of a dismal 2024 season with the Diamondbacks that saw Montgomery post a 6.23 ERA over 117 innings.  While it remains to be seen how the left-hander will fare after his long layoff, the idea of Montgomery as a late-season reinforcement must bring back some fond memories for Texas fans. It was almost exactly three years ago that the Rangers acquired Montgomery from the Cardinals at the 2023 trade deadline, and Montgomery’s terrific pitching down the stretch and through the postseason was a key reason behind the Rangers’ World Series championship.  That past history certainly factored into the Rangers’ decision to sign Montgomery to a one-year, $1.25MM free agent deal last offseason.  At that price, Montgomery will be a bargain even if he can just eat some innings and add depth to the rotation mix. Cody Bradford is another Texas southpaw working his way back from a major elbow surgery, as Bradford is about 11 months removed from an internal brace procedure.  Bradford is four starts into a minor league rehab assignment but has yet to throw more than 48 pitches.  Grant writes that the Rangers “would like to build him up a bit more as a starting rotation option,” so Bradford probably seems in line for perhaps two more rehab outings.