I went to the Metroplex this weekend to watch the Texas Rangers play this weekend, and was rewarded with two shutout wins, with a combined score of 15-0.
On my way back to Houston yesterday, the news came out that Marcus Semien had been diagnosed with a fractured third metatarsal bone in his left foot, as well as a Lisfranc sprain. This was apparently the result from a ball he fouled off his foot on Thursday against Kansas City. Evan Carter fractured his wrist on a HBP on Wednesday against the Royals,
so that was a rather costly series.
The Rangers have had, by my count, eleven position players on the injured list this year, including nine guys who would potentially qualify as regulars (eight if you consider Kyle Higashioka a non-regular). That’s a lot. Its not been a great year for hitters staying healthy for Texas in 2025.
Of course, some of that is the just the nature of the players the Rangers have — Corey Seager, you figure, is going to have a short i.l. stint or two every year, Evan Carter’s back issues are always going to be, well, an issue, and Josh Jung has a lengthy injury history. There’s also been some random bad luck involved, though, such as with Joc Pederson and Evan Carter having bones broken due to being hit by a pitch.
And in that latter category goes this Semien injury. His iron man status is well known, having played in at least 159 games in seven of the last ten seasons, including 2025. One of the seasons he didn’t play in 159 games was 2020, when there were only 60 games. The only other time was in 2017, when he missed multiple months due to a fractured wrist. A guy who hasn’t been on the injured list since Yu Darvish and Jonathan Lucroy were members of the Texas Rangers landing on the i.l. after breaking a bone in his foot on a foul ball seems fitting, given how this season has gone for the Rangers.
In case you are curious, there are five metatarsal bones in the foot, and they link the heel and ankle bones to the toe bones. The third metatarsal bone is the middle one. There are three Lisfranc ligaments in the foot, connecting the medical cuneiform bone to the second metatarsal, per Wikipedia.
Semien is reportedly expected to miss four to six weeks. The Rangers have 30 games left this season, with the final game being on September 28. If he only missed four weeks, he could be back for the final week of the season. Five or six weeks and he’s done for the year, unless the Rangers somehow manage to make the playoffs.
Bad news for Semien, and bad news for the Rangers’ prospects of climbing back into the playoff race. It is potentially good news for Josh Jung, Ezequiel Duran and Cody Freeman, on the other hand, as an additional open spot in the starting lineup for a second baseman potentially means more playing time for each of them. Jung, who has been relegated to a semi-platoon role of late, potentially gets more starts due to Josh Smith or one of the other two players, who might otherwise be playing third base, getting the start at second base instead.
