The Texas Rangers have confirmed that Josh Jung will be out for a significant amount of time after he injured his right wrist in a play against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
Jung was at-bat in the ninth inning with Rays reliever Phil Maton as the pitcher. The swinging strike directly hit the Rangers third baseman, who was immediately replaced. The Rangers won the game, 9-3.
The Rays won the next game, 5-2.
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Texas Rangers Josh Jung injury update
Jung's hand was examined shortly after, and he was diagnosed with a broken right wrist.
Rangers general manager Chris Young shared that Jung could miss up to six weeks because of this setback.
"He was very dejected last night, understandably, and he was in pain too," the GM said. "I hate it for him. He worked so hard. He came in great shape, obviously had the calf injury, and worked hard to be back by opening day."
Young added that Jung would undergo surgery and should have a plate and screws to help in his healing.
Jung has been on a roll in this very young season.
Before going down, he posted .308/.400/.769 (226 OPS+) with a home run, a double, and a triple to go with two runs batted in his last three games.
He is expected to figure prominently this season after a successful rookie season where he hit .266 with 23 home runs and a .781 OPS. He finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting and made the All-Star Game that year.
Jung joins the long list of injured Rangers, as first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and right-handed starters Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Mahle remain out.
The team is currently 3-2 in the standings with one game to go in the series against the Rays. Next up for them are their AL West rivals, the Houston Astros.
Texas Rangers Josh Jung injury history
This is not the first time Jung is dealing with an injury in his young career.
He missed 40 days last season due to a fractured thumb.
He was also listed as out for a significant amount of time due to a torn labrum shoulder that required surgery and a stress fracture in his foot.
The Texas Rangers wasted no time filling the hole vacated by Jung.
Called up in his place is the team's 2020 14th overall pick, Justin Foscue, who was named the No. 5 prospect by MLB.com last season.
Foscue, 25, hasn't seen majors, but he impressively batted .266 with a .862 OPS, 18 home runs, 31 doubles, 84 RBI, and 14 steals for Triple-A Round Rock in 2023.
Analysts initially viewed him as someone who needed to sign with another team to see major minutes because of the Rangers' stacked infield.
He usually plays second and third base and is known for his contact and on-base chops.
Foscue also launched 18 home runs as part of Triple-A.
Other players that could fill in for Jung are Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran.
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