The Braves’ shortstop search is going to hang over the offseason, and Corey Seager is the kind of name that naturally pops up when the trade market starts getting discussed. He’s the headliner in Texas after the Rangers said they were open to moving some of their stars on big contracts, and on the surface, he looks like a clean solution for Atlanta’s problem.
But the fit gets a lot messier once you dig into the details.
Seager is 32, carrying a 10-year, $325 million deal he signed with Texas in December of 2021, and he’s owed $31.5 million per year through the 2031 season. That means any team trading for him would be taking on a huge financial commitment while also betting on the back end of his career.
By the time the contract is done, Seager will be 37. He also has a no-trade clause in play, which only adds another layer of complication.
The performance trend isn’t exactly comforting, either. Last season was a career-worst one for Seager by several measures: a 106 wRC+, .320 wOBA, and .736 OPS.
He also had minor elbow surgery in October to remove bone spurs in his throwing elbow. That leaves both production and health as real questions, especially when you consider he’s played at least 125 games in only one season since 2020.
There are still things Seager does well. He continues to hit the ball very hard and draw walks.
But there were other warning signs in his profile last season, too. Statcast had him at minus-1 in fielding run value and minus-2 in baserunning run value.
His bat speed dropped to a career-low 71.5 mph, and his arm strength remains in the lower tier among MLB shortstops. Add in the fact that he ranked in the sixth percentile in sprint speed last season, and it’s fair to question how much longer he can handle shortstop.
Steamer still sees a rebound coming, projecting Seager to hit .252/.338/.459 with a 123 wRC+ and 3.1 fWAR in 111 games next season. That’s a respectable line, but it’s also the kind of projection that has to be weighed against a massive contract. For Atlanta, the risk is obvious.
If the Braves are going to absorb that kind of money and uncertainty, the argument can be made that they’d be better off using that same level of commitment elsewhere - even on Ronald Acuña Jr. in an extension scenario. Seager would not be a bad addition for the Braves in 2027, but Alex Anthopoulos can’t afford to think only about the short term.
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Braves Have A New Reason To Feel Good About Walt Weiss
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Weiss has been part of a season that gave Braves fans plenty to follow beyond the standings, including an April dustup with the Angels that briefly put him at the center of the action. With the winners being announced on MLB Network and MLB+, the attention now shifts to how his year stacks up against the rest of the field and what it says about the respect he has earned inside the game. [Read more 🡒]