On Friday night, Jake Burger put his hand on his torso after a big swinging strikeout and looked in pain as he walked back to the dugout. He did not take the field for the bottom half of the inning. So, it came as little surprise when the Rangers placed the first baseman on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain this afternoon. Thankfully for Burger, he does not believe the injury to be particularly serious, and he told Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News that he doesn’t expect to miss more than the minimum 10 days. He related the oblique injury to one he suffered in 2023 that kept him out from May 4-14. While he is gone, Justin Foscue will take his place on the active roster.
From 2023-24, Burger hit 63 home runs and produced a 113 wRC+ in 278 games with the White Sox and Marlins. When the Rangers traded for him over the offseason, they were surely hoping to get a middle-of-the-order caliber power bat. Yet, he got off to a rough start in his first year with Texas, slashing .190/.231/.330 with a 53 wRC+ over the first five weeks of the season. At the beginning of May, the Rangers made the surprising decision to briefly option him to Triple-A Round Rock, giving the 29-year-old an opportunity to take a breath and reset. It seemed to work, as he went 9-for-23 with two home runs in six games with the Round Rock Express. Following his call-up on May 12, he hit eight doubles and seven home runs over his next 35 games. His overall results in this stretch (.725 OPS and 100 wRC+) were still more average than good, but his plus power was back, and even average overall production represented a huge improvement upon his early-season performance.
The Rangers have a few players who could see time at first, including Foscue and Josh Smith. However, manager Bruce Bochy suggests that Ezequiel Duran will take over as the team’s primary first baseman while Burger is out (per McFarland). Duran isn’t your typical first baseman. He’s a versatile defender who can play all over the infield (and a little bit of outfield too), but his bat leaves much to be desired. While he hit .276 with 14 home runs and a 110 wRC+ in his breakout 2023 season, his offensive numbers were disappointing in 2024 (.609 OPS, 74 wRC+), and they’ve been downright dreadful so far in 2025. Through 23 games, he’s batting .152 and has yet to hit a home run. He’s looked better lately, with three doubles in the past week (his first extra-base hits of the season), but still, there is little doubt the Rangers’ offense will suffer until Burger returns.
Need to be getting a look at foscue. Duran has fizzled and I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t dfa in off-season, if not before
Not here to just shake my fist at each team, and maybe I just read it wrong, but “there is little doubt the Rangers’ offense will suffer until Burger returns” may not be worded the best with Burger’s 87 OPS+ and a team offense already near last
yeah it’s a very weird thing to say
I think it has more to do with his replacement, Duran.
Burger’s 87 OPS+ is bad, no doubt, but Duran is sporting a comical 32 OPS+ in a small sample this season. For his career, Duran has generally been notably worse then Burger.
Burger at least poses a power threat of some sort, while Duran poses as a mannequin.
Burger got fat, I saw a still shot of him at the plate, it wasn’t flattering. He needs to drop 20 lbs.
He needs to pick up the pace if he wants to hit exactly .250 four years in a row and win a Khris Davis Award.
I think it .247 but it’s definitely in that range.