Josh Jung To Undergo Thumb Surger

Rangers rookie third baseman will undergo surgery to stabilize a fracture in his left thumb, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News ( ). Hes expected to mi s roughly six weeks. Jung when he knocked down a line drive in last nights win over Miami. The Rangers placed him on the 10-day injured list today, recalling for his big Keaton Middleton Jersey league debut in his place. With the injury requiring surgical repair, Texas loses one of its top bats well into next month. The six-week timetable leaves open the po sibility of Jung returning during the regular season. If everything goes well, he could be back for the final two to three weeks of the schedule. Given how tightly contested the AL West is, its quite po sible that stretch of play could determine the Rangers playoff standing. Texas leads the Astros by 2.5 games; theyre in strong position to at least secure a Wild Card berth, but the division would come with the added bonus of a first-round bye (since the AL Central winner is almost certain to be the third seed). Its a third straight season with a notable injury for Jung. After a broken foot in 2021, he injured his left shoulder in a weight room accident headed into 2022. That kept him from making his MLB debut until last September and probably contributed to a lackluster .204/.235/.418 showing in his first 26 games. After a healthy offseason, Jung has broken through as a middle-of-the-order presence in Arlington. The former eighth overall pick owns a .274/.323/.489 line over 461 trips to the dish. While his strikeout and walk marks are middling, he has popped 22 homers. He leads American League rookies in longballs, putting him in strong consideration for Rookie of the Year. Thatll be far more challenging now. As Ethan Hullihen points out ( ), that could deal another hit to the team. Jung met the prospect criteria appearing on at least two preseason Top 100 lists at Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and ESPN (he made all three) for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. The Rangers carried Jung on the active roster from the start of the season. If he were to win Rookie of the Year, hed net Texas an extra draft choice as did for the Mariners last season. That isnt out of the question, but the injury reduces Jungs chances of nabbing the award. The more immediate concern, of course, is how to replace Jung at the hot corner. figures to get the bulk of the playing time there. Duran, who has slumped since the All-Star Break following a stellar first half, is hitting seventh and manning third base tonight against Oakland southpaw . Brad Hunt Jersey