The Rangers announced earlier in the week that third baseman Josh Jung had suffered a fractured wrist after being hit by a pitch, but a timetable for his return hadn’t been firmly established prior to today. General manager Chris Young tells the Rangers beat that while initial x-rays created some optimism for a six-week timeline, the surgery to repair Jung’s wrist was more involved than anticipated (X link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). The team is now forecasting a timeline of eight to ten weeks for his recovery.
Losing Jung for two-plus months is a severe hurdle for the reigning World Series champions to overcome. An All-Star and the fourth-place finisher in 2023’s AL Rookie of the Year voting, Jung carries a strong .271/.320/.483 slash in 534 plate appearances dating back to last season. He went 7-for-17 with a pair of homers in his first 19 plate appearances of the 2024 campaign despite missing most of spring training with a calf strain that kept him out of the lineup. On top of all that, Jung is considered a strong defender at the hot corner, making him a well-rounded, critical member of the Rangers’ everyday lineup.
Josh H. Smith got the start at third base in the Rangers’ most recent game, and it’ll be Ezequiel Duran drawing the nod there today, the team revealed in announcing its lineup. That pairing could form a platoon to cover third base in Jung’s absence — although the right-handed-hitting Duran is starting against a righty today. Texas also called up prospect Justin Foscue for his MLB debut, and while he’s a bat-first option with more experience at second base, he could factor into the mix at third base in Jung’s absence as well (though for the time being, a straightforward platoon with first baseman Jared Walsh makes good sense for the righty-hitting Foscue).
Texas has been hammered by injuries in the early stages of the season. It was already known that Jacob deGrom and offseason signee Tyler Mahle would be out for the first few months of the season owing to 2023 Tommy John surgeries, but offseason back surgery for Max Scherzer, a spring oblique strain for Nathaniel Lowe and now Jung’s fractured wrist have subtracted key contributors from the club’s roster.
The extended nature of Jung’s absence will make him a 60-day IL candidate at any point the Rangers find themselves in need of a 40-man roster spot in the days and weeks ahead. The eight-week end of the projected timetable would see Jung return just prior to Memorial Day weekend, whereas he’d be out into mid-June if he ends up needing a full ten weeks.
Ugh, well we overcame injuries last year, I suppose we can again. I hate this for Josh as he was setup for a great year.
You spelled Braves wrong
Tough blow but Texas has the best offense on the planet so if anybody can handle it, it would be them.
Rangers have a great offense, but the Dodgers, Braves, and Orioles all have arguably better offenses.
A healthy rangers team outdoes them all, and maybe an unhealthy one but time will tell
I wonder if you are a rangers fan. No, a “healthy” rangers team doesn’t outdo 3 of the top 10 hitters on the planet + 4 or 5 above average hitters
Do you know how many double digit wins the Rangers had last year?
@Silver I know the Dodgers and Braves scored more total runs last season.
The Braves had arguably the greatest lineup of all time last year. Do you know how many home runs they hit?
So we will have every Astro and former Astro pitcher torment us every game they appear in?
He won’t be replacing Jung at third base except for perhaps a rare off day for the Smith/Duran duo I see them bringing Foscue up to platoon with Walsh at first as Duran will not be available now to do that very often.
Mr. Glass
It’s starting to look like it. Like 4 yrs in row with surgeries and extended IL stints
Weren’t the Ranger homers calling Lankford and Carter offensive studs? LOL.
A lot more than just homers, they were generally seen as two of the most elite prospects in the game. Which doesn’t necessarily mean they come out blazing the first week of the season, but I suspect you’ll be walking this comment back before too long.
Nope. Overrated like a former Ranger hitters (Young)
Michael Young had a very solid career and was a highly regarded contact hitter with elite bat to ball skills. Your ignorance (or hatred for a heated rival) is laughable.
Are you calling Michael Young overrated or you referring to some other Young? Young won a batting title, won a GG, and was a 25 WAR player over 13 MLB seasons. Definitely not overrated.
How old were you when you found out you were a punk?
Anybody know why MLB hasn’t adopted some sort of protective gear for wrists? Is it the same reason pitchers don’t have one for their head? They simply don’t want it and it feels weird or something?
Difficult design would be my guess. Trying to cover, and not restrict, a joint with a 360 range of movement. The material would have to be super flexible and therefore probably not providing much protection.
Cricket protection for batsmen is the same. Got gloves. Got forearm guards. Wrists are unprotected.
Sounds like there could be a market for this. Time to get inventing…
Really sorry about Josh, he’s a very exciting player to watch. And love that defense too. Hope he’s back in time to meet the Orioles until then All best from Baltimore.