Dodgers: Corey Seager Talks About the ‘Huge’ Reason He Signed with Texas
The Dodgers had a largely successful offseason. They managed both re-sign Clayton Kershaw and whisk Freddie Freeman away from the Atlanta Braves. However, they were not successful in retaining longtime shortstop Corey Seager. Seager signed a megadeal with the Texas Rangers before the December 1 lockout.
Seager explained one big factor, besides the massive ten-year, $325M contract, that led to him signing with the Rangers in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM.
“We’re trending upwards. Woody [Chris Woodward] was a huge part of my decision. Knowing how he is, knowing how he approaches the game, knowing how I am and how I approach the game. The stars aligned.”
Before Seager signed with the Rangers, his strong relationship with Texas manager Chris Woodward was no secret. Woodward previously served as the Dodgers third base coach and had a strong rapport with Seager.
Dodgers Prospects: Spotlight on Ryan Pepiot; Diego Cartaya, Maddux Bruns Dazzle
That’s not the only Rangers coach with Dodger ties to Seager. Texas brought Tim Hyers into the fold this offseason as the team’s hitting coach – Woodward and Hyers coached in LA together in 2016 and 2017. Hyers apparently played a big role in Seager’s maturation from rookie of the year candidate to slugging shortstop.
Seager also cited the continuity of the Rangers front office, as another factor in his decision.
“Then, you get CY [Chris Young] and JD [Josh Boyd] in there with the same mindset and the same approach. That hits home and it’s something you want to be part of.”
The shortstop isn’t alone in his reverence for Chris Young. Clayton Kershaw, who almost signed with Texas himself, is also high on Young’s ability to turn the Rangers around.
A big bag of money played a role for Seager, but so did familiarity.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!
Dodgers: Craig Kimbrel Sounds Excited to Join a Good Bullpen
Oh yeah, and then there was the money! Not to mention the opportunity to take early fall vacations.
Sorry forgot to put my last initial on my thank you post to Corey..iam Tim G…not the first poster to reply
There were 325 million huge reasons why he signed. Sure, like the Dodgers don’t have “continuity” in the front office. I love Seager but he will be on the shelf at least 40% of the time during that contract. And the Rangers will come in 4th this year.
I don’t know why Seager’s comments keep showing up, who cares!!! The guy didn’t have loyalty and he got hungry for the money and besides, being a client of Boras, the Dodgers knew he was gone so stop writing about him. Worry about the players on the present roster and keep playing!!!
Nothing wrong with taking the money and being part of a rebuild you can put your stamp on…congrats to you corey and thank you for your time in LA…you will love the Arlington area to live
BS answer, Corey. It’s always the money. The Dodgers offer was good enough. Hope you don’t like Texas.
No one is going to say “I just did it for the money” but it is a pretty safe bet that if the Dodgers had offered him $325 million he would have stayed. The Dodgers clearly felt he wasn’t worth that kind of money. Everyone moves on.
We’d all take the money and run. Maybe the Dodgers came within 5 Mil or so but do you know what a paltry 5 Mil can buy? Seager is great, there’s no doubt but with Trea Turner for at least a year the Dodgers are saving cap room for the kids who will be exiting arbitration in the next few years. Texas lost 102 games last year so all this jibber jabber about loving the management is just that. It was the MONEY pure and simple.You would too.
Take the money…owners have no loyalty….why should the players….Turner is gone also…Dodgers not going to pay him…he has indicated in a USA TODAY article years ago…he and the wife want to be on the east coast
that’s ok, they don’t need a $30M+ player at every position.
Speaking of money, Seager isn’t paying state income tax on all his games in the Lone Star State. As for Woodward and Young, Seager needs to help the Rangers win or they won’t be around through his lengthy contract. Good luck, Seager! You were a Dodgers star!!!
Ah, there is NO state income tax in Texas. None. Zippo. At Corey’s income level in California, it would be 12.3%.
If that CA income tax rate stays the same over the life of his contract, that will be $40 million less in taxes that would go directly into his bank account and/or into his investments.
So, it’s no wonder that high-income people like Elon Musk and Corey Seager are leaving California in such huge numbers; Seager isn’t an exception to that trend.
and the fact Texas overpaid for his services. Just maybe Bellinger should find a way to the Lone Star State? His career may jump start, with less pressure and capable hitting coaches?
You pay prorated state tax on games played in other states. So he pays when they play the Angles, A’s, Yankees, etc.
Hope you like the Heat and terrible humidity, not to mention tornados, humidity, hail and nothing to see but ugly views. Lived there before.
This “seager” person…are we supposed to know who he is? I vaguely remember someone by a similar name playing for the Dodgers recently, could this be him? Never mind – don’t care.
Such BS. Come on, of course he’s not gonna say it’s all about the money, even though it 100% is. Why else would you leave the Dodgers, who are the no. 1 contender for the WS, for a low level team like the Rangers? Money and a better tax situation for him. I don’t blame CS one bit, but I’d have more respect for him if he was just honest about it.
What if there is some truth to what Seager is saying? Doesn’t say much about manager Robert’s influence, does it. Nor the front office, but as a manager on the field everyday with your players, one would think that relationship has to have some say in the matter.
Well Roberts has no relevance to a decision like that. I would say it has more to do with Friedman, since he’s largely responsible for creating the organization thatvthe Dodgers are today.