The Texas Rangers positioned second baseman Marcus Semien on the injured listing with a damaged left foot over the weekend, retroactive to Thursday’s video games. The results of a foul ball hitting the highest of his foot, Semien was initially recognized with a contusion, however after getting a number of further opinions, that analysis was revised to a fracture of the third metatarsal and a Lisfranc sprain. Semien, who turns 35 subsequent month and whose final harm that merited an IL stint was a wrist contusion again in 2017, is having one in every of his weaker offensive seasons, with a .230/.305/.364 triple slash line, however because of his still-solid glove, he’s nonetheless amassed 2.1 WAR. The harm possible ends Semien’s common season, and given the place Texas is within the standings, in all probability his 2025.
I can’t consider many good instances to interrupt your foot. Simply talking for myself, I’d take into account a damaged foot preferable to, say, going to a marriage I actually don’t need to attend. However Semien is an expert athlete, not an introverted middle-aged baseball analyst who writes from house surrounded by computer systems and cats, and his crew is on the brink. Texas is coming off a sweep of the Cleveland Guardians, however these three wins solely obtained the crew again to the .500 mark, with a 9-13 document for August.
Semien famous on Sunday that he doesn’t imagine that surgical procedure shall be required, and he’s truly a bit extra apprehensive concerning the Lisfranc sprain:
“Hopefully we get again on this race and we’ll see the place we’re at by that point,” Semien mentioned. “I’m gonna be expecting a short while right here. The lisfranc is what we’re most apprehensive about, simply attempting to maintain it intact by staying off of it. Should you tear that, then it may very well be a yr. I’m simply attempting to maintain that intact and let the opposite fracture heal.”
For many who, like me, get most of their data of human skeletons from the tune Dem Bones:
Your phalanges related to the metatarsalsYour third metatarsal related to the lateral cuneiformYour lateral cunieform related to the navicular boneYour navicular bone related to the talusI hear the phrase of ElAttrache!
Or, extra helpfully, the metatarsals are bones in the course of the foot that assist bridge the toes and the ankle. The lateral cuneiform is among the “suspension bridges” of the foot, preserving the arch of the foot steady. The Lisfranc ligament is just like the suspension cables that give that kind of bridge its title, serving to to carry all the things collectively. Image the inevitable destiny of the Golden Gate Bridge in any catastrophe film set in California, and you’ve got a reasonably good thought of what’s happening in Semien’s foot for the time being.
Semien has a superb case for being probably the most sturdy participant in baseball immediately, together with his 1,145 video games because the begin of the 2018 season probably the most, by 21 video games, over second-place Freddie Freeman. In baseball, current well being is broadly predictive of future well being, even for hitters, and whether or not or not we name it a talent, Semien’s endurance is one thing that has introduced plenty of worth to his crew, even in his lesser seasons.
Semien’s bat isn’t what it as soon as was, but it surely was nonetheless welcome to the Rangers, who, outdoors of a six-week interval or so in midsummer, have struggled immensely to persistently rating runs. Texas has scored two or fewer runs in 49 video games this season, the fifth-most in baseball, behind solely the Royals and three of the worst groups within the league (the White Sox, Rockies, and Pirates). Semien had an particularly brutal April, with a .182/.258/.245 line, however whereas he nonetheless hasn’t matched his preseason projections since then, hitting .244/.320/.400 is greater than respectable. This isn’t me arbitrarily taking an optimistic stretch of efficiency from Semien’s season; the projection techniques all have him sustaining a roughly .720 OPS over the remainder of the season if not for the foot.
Much more importantly, Semien possible supplied higher offense than anybody else Texas has to play second base for the remainder of the yr. We venture Ezequiel Duran to get the overwhelming majority of the enjoying time down the stretch, and whereas he’s had a wonderful August, even Steamer, which is our most bullish projection system because it issues Duran, nonetheless simply predicts a .676 OPS from him. Forty factors of OPS is a major downgrade, and that’s the weakest a part of Semien’s recreation. Elsewhere on the roster, Josh Smith’s companies have been wanted within the outfield, and ZiPS doesn’t venture Cody Freeman to be higher than Duran, with a .242/.288/.384 projection. A yr in the past, I may need steered the Rangers simply roll the cube and throw Justin Foscue into the spot for six weeks, however he has solely a 105 wRC+ in Triple-A this yr, and his bat must be what carries him.
As of Monday morning, ZiPS tasks the Semien-less Rangers with a 9.1% likelihood of creating the playoffs, down from a 12.8% likelihood with a wholesome Semien, that means that this harm knocked out simply over 1 / 4 of the Texas’ playoff situations. At 4 1/2 video games behind the final Wild Card crew, the Seattle Mariners, with 30 video games to go, each further loss has a major impression on the Rangers’ destiny.
The Rangers may nonetheless very effectively make the playoffs — baseball might be bizarre typically, and there’s solely a lot anybody participant can do — however midnight ticked just a little nearer for them this weekend.
