Rangers' Division Chances Take Huge Hit With Josh Jung Injury Update

Impressively, the Rangers have managed to remain in first place in a tough AL West despite injuries to several key players. Jacob deGrom is done for the season, of course, while Nate Eovaldi and Jonah Heim are on the IL as well. For the most part, though, Texas has remained largely healthy.

Unfortunately, the Rangers received some devastating injury news prior to Monday's game against the Oakland A's.

Josh Jung Injury Update

According to beat reporter Evan Grant, Josh Jung sustained a broken thumb during Sunday's win over the Miami Marlins. Jung will require surgery and is expected to miss six weeks.

This is terrible news for the Rangers, who will now be without one of their best players until mid-September. The All-Star third baseman was one of this year's breakout stars for Texas, batting .274/.323/.489 with 22 home runs (second-most on the team) and 67 RBIs in his first full season. He was also an everyday presence in the lineup, appearing in 109 of the team's first 112 games.

The timing is far from ideal, as the Rangers will have to survive the dog days of August and much of the stretch run without Jung. Texas entered Monday with a narrow 2.5-game lead over the Astros for first place in the AL West, which will surely be tougher to maintain without one of the bigger bats in its lineup.

As it were, the Rangers were still listed as -145 favorites to win the AL West at BetMGM Sportsbook on Monday night.

While Jung should be back in time for the postseason, it's unclear how effective he'll be when he comes back. The injury could hamper his swing (especially his power), while the layoff may mess with his timing at the plate.

Time will tell if Jung is able to come back fully healed and pick up where he left off. In the meantime, his teammates will try to make do without him, although his power will certainly be missed. Utilityman Ezequiel Duran manned the hot corner in Jung's absence on Monday and will likely do so going forward without a defined backup third baseman on the roster.

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