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We can forget about the Yankees or any other team acquiring star shortstop Corey Seager from the Rangers this winter.
Probably.
A few days after the Dallas Morning News reported the Yankees, Red Sox and Braves put in a phone call to initiate trade talks, Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young stated on Sunday that Seager is not available.
“While I understand teams checking in, I think that’s been a little overblown in terms of we are not shopping Corey Seager,” Young said during an interview with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. “What I love is that Corey Seager is a great player for the Texas Rangers. Our goal is to win a championship, and to win a championship you have to have great players.”
This statement likely means, for better or worse, the Yankees will go into next season with 2025 MLB stolen base champ Jose Caballero starting at shortstop until Anthony Volpe returns from his offseason labrum surgery in late April or May.
A starter since his rookie season in 2023, Volpe had a poor ’25 campaign at the plate and in the field. The New Jersey native may only have one more season to keep his job long-term because George Lombard Jr., the organization’s No. 1 prospect, is a shortstop who figures to reach Triple-A at some point next season after playing for High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset in 2025.
With the Rangers reportedly planning to cut payroll this winter, there’s been speculation that Seager would be moved. The five-time All-Star and two-time World Series MVP has six years and $186 million remaining on his 10-year, $325-million contract.
The Rangers dropped almost $11 million off their 2026 payroll on Nov 24 by trading second baseman Marcus Semien to the Mets for outfielder Brandon Nimmo.
“Maybe they thought by trading Marcus, we’d be open on Corey,” Young said. “We call and check in on great players with other teams as well. So teams are doing their job, I get it.
:It got out in the media in another market and it got a little bit of momentum that it deserved, but we are not shopping Corey Seager. I want to make that very clear.