Injured Texas Rangers Slugger Set For Latest Exam

The Texas Rangers have been without third baseman Josh Jung for a few weeks and his latest exam could provide a timeline to return.

Mar 31, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung (6) / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Injured Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung told reporters, including MLB.com, that he was heading to Arizona later this week for another exam on his broken wrist.

The exam is set for Friday. Jung said that if the exam goes well then he’ll get a timeline to return to the lineup.

The 26-year-old Jung broke the wrist against Tampa Bay in the season’s fourth game, another setback in a career that has been beset by injuries since he was drafted in the first round by the Rangers in 2019 out of Texas Tech.

Jung is currently on the 60-day injured list. He had a .412 average with two home runs and six RBI when he suffered the injury.

Last year Jung, as a rookie, slashed .266/.315/.467/.781 with 23 home runs and 70 RBI in 122 games. He was named the AL Rookie of the Month for both April and May, but he missed more than a month after the All-Star break with a broken thumb suffered when he tried to field a line drive.

He returned in time to help the Rangers win their first World Series.

Texas hoped that Jung would be their Opening-Day third baseman in 2022, but he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He recovered quickly enough to make his Major League debut that September.

Before that, he underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot and miss six to eight weeks during the 2021 minor-league season.

Without Jung in the lineup, the Rangers have used Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran primarily at third base.

Texas is in the midst of a long homestand as they will host the Seattle Mariners, the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals.