Bruce Bochy Provides Update on Crushing Josh Jung Injury
By Jack Gurley
Early in the season, the Rangers can't escape the injury bug. Josh Jung is the newest victim after he went down with a broken wrist toward the end of Monday's game.
Manager Bruce Bochy was quick to provide an update after the game:
“He’ll be back. I talked to him briefly, you know this hurts. I feel for the kid because he’s had to deal with so much on injuries. It’s gonna be a little while, but he’ll be back.”
— Abby Jones (@_abigaiiiil) April 2, 2024
Bochy speaks on Josh Jung’s exit from tonight’s game with a fractured wrist. #StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/ql2DGnKxZE
This news is a crushing blow for Jung, who can't seem to avoid the IR so far in his young career. Last year, in his rookie season, Jung missed the final six weeks due to a fractured thumb. Fortunately, Jung returned just in time for the postseason and was a solid contributor to the Rangers World Series run, finishing with a .308 average and a .538 slugging percentage through the postseason.
Going into this season, Jung hoped to have a successful sophomore season and continue to build off his successful rookie campaign. However, Jung was impacted by injuries once again on the first day of camp this spring when he injured his calf and was sidelined for most of spring training. He recovered just in time to be a part of the Rangers Opening Day roster and has been a force to be reckoned with since the season started. Through four games, he has had two home runs and a sensational 1.415 OPS in seventeen plate appearances. Unfortunately, Jung's hot start to the season will have been halted because of another timely injury.
With Jung out for the foreseeable future, the Ranger's front office is now given the challenging task of finding someone to hold down the hot corner in Jung's absence. With Jared Walsh manning first base while Nate Lowe is still on the IL, utility man Ezequiel Duran is probably the Ranger's best option to take Jung's spot. Duran did a tremendous job last year covering shortstop after Seager went down in the first few weeks of the season. Duran was a significant factor in keeping the team afloat in Seager's absence and will be asked to do the same thing once again this season in Jung's absence.
The Rangers will examine Jung's wrist in the next few days to determine how long he will be out and the severity of the injury.
This loss is another blow to the Ranger's already fractured roster, which will be hobbling for at least the first few months of the season. Thankfully, the MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint, which should give fans some hope that the Rangers can remain in contention this year.
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