ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Corey Seager and Marcus Semien won't try to return to play this week for the Texas Rangers, ending the fourth season together for middle infielders who have been sidelined since late August.
“They’re done. They’re pretty much shut down,” manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday before the Rangers' 4-1 loss against Minnesota to open their final home series.
Semien has been out since Aug. 22, after the second baseman sustained a broken bone and sprained ligament when fouling a pitch off his left foot. That was a week before shortstop Seager had an appendectomy.
While Seager and Semien are done and the Rangers are out of playoff contention, Bochy said Jacob deGrom (12-8, 3.01 ERA) will make his last scheduled start Wednesday against the Twins. It will be the two-time Cy Young Award winner's 30th start this year after missing most of the past two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery.
DeGrom already has thrown 167 2/3 innings this season, after only 35 starts and 197 1/3 innings combined the past four seasons. That included his final two injury-plagued years with the New York Mets before leaving in free agency and then having surgery after only six starts in his Rangers debut in 2023, the season of their only World Series title.
“He wants to pitch,” Bochy said.
Seager and Semien were a half-billion dollar addition for the Rangers in free agency after the 2021 season, when Seager got a $325 million, 10-year contract, and Semien signed for $175 million over seven seasons. The following offseason, deGrom arrived with a $185 million, five-year deal that included a conditional sixth-year club option worth at least $20 million for 2028 that has been triggered because of the time missed injured.
Both Seager and Semien had indicated that they hoped to get back to play this season, especially when the Rangers made a late push for a playoff spot with a 13-3 run that included a pair of six-game winning streaks. But the eight-game losing streak, their longest of the season, dropped them 5 1/2 games behind Houston for the American League's final playoff spot with five games left in the regular season.
When asked about the possibility of two-time World Series MVP Seager coming back this week, Bochy responded, “It's not worth the risk. He's not quite ready. Same with Marcus.”
Bochy said they possibly could have played had the Rangers made the postseason.
“Yeah, it was a chance,” he said. “Marcus is making a lot of improvement. Corey not quite as fast as we were hoping.”
Seager hit .271 with 21 home runs and 50 RBIs in 102 games this season. He also missed 16 games in May while on the injured list with a right hamstring strain.
Semien will finish at 127 games, his fewest in a full season since 85 with the Athletics in 2017, the only other time in his 13 big league seasons he went on the injured list. He had played at least 159 games every year since, except for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He hit .230 with 15 homers and 62 RBIs this year.
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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom throws against the Houston Astros during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.
Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation because Iran is located on a key East-West route for airlines.
“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”
Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.
The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.
In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.
Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.”
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.
Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A woman mourns next to the flag-draped coffins of a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, during their funeral ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man hands out posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People take part in a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Policemen protect the British Embassy during a protest by hardline supporters of the Iranian government, as people ride on their motorbike in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
