Rangers’ Josh Jung Suffers Fractured Left Thumb, Could Require Season-Ending Surgery
Texas Rangers rookie third baseman Josh Jung left Sunday’s contest versus the Miami Marlins due to a broken left thumb that could sideline the American League Rookie of the Year candidate for the remainder of this season.
Jung was struck on his glove hand by Jorge Soler’s 109.4-mph liner in the sixth inning, which he knocked down before beginning an unlikely 5-4 double-play. That neutralized a crucial opportunity for the Marlins, who had runners on first and second with zero outs.
The 25-year-old somehow blocked out the pain of fracturing his thumb while locating the hard-hit ball, stepping on third base and firing a bullet across the diamond for the second out – a sequence that played a critical role in Texas’ 6-0 blanking of Miami.
Shortly afterwards, though, Jung was examined by team trainers and ultimately exited the game to undergo further testing. Josh H. Smith, who started at shortstop, moved over to third base as Ezequiel Duran came off the bench to take over at short.
X-rays revealed a broken left thumb for Jung during the afternoon affair, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy announced post-game. The next step will include visiting a specialist to determine if it’ll require surgery.
If Jung undergoes surgery to repair his thumb, he’ll likely be looking at a six-to-eight-week recovery timeline, which would almost certainly end his rookie campaign prematurely. And it’d also impact his AL ROY odds as well.
But for now, the Rangers are reserving judgement until they can gather additional information regarding the severity of the right-hander’s ailment.
“We’ll see where we’re at and what needs to be done, whatever — we just don’t know yet,” Bochy told reporters post-game, including MLB.com’s Dave Sessions.
Jung, the eighth overall selection in 2019, has emerged as one of baseball’s top young stars, as he leads all MLB rookies in home runs (22) and ranks inside the top 10 in AVG (.274), SLG (.489), wRC+ (122) and fWAR (2.6) across 109 games.
The 6-foot-2 righty has also positively impacted Texas’ defense, with his +2 Outs Above Average ranking in the 80th percentile of the majors. His 936.1 innings logged at the hot corner are also fifth-highest in the sport, behind Matt Chapman (958.2), Austin Riley (968), Eugenio Suarez (969.1) and Alex Bregman (987.2).
As one of five Rangers selected to last month’s All-Star Game, Jung and his difference-making tools will sorely be missed by his teammates no matter how long his IL stint lasts.
“That was definitely a game-changing play,” second baseman Marcus Semien said when asked about Jung’s double-play. “Two guys got on with no outs, and a hard-hit ball — definitely it could’ve went the other way. It’s unfortunate that it looks like he’s going to be out for a little bit.”
Injuries have plagued Texas’s roster recently, particularly on the position player side, as Jonah Heim and Brad Miller currently reside on the 10-day IL while superstar Corey Seager continues battling a nagging right thumb sprain.
With Jung joining that group, Smith and Duran will likely share the responsibility of filling his vacancy at third base. The team could also reach down to Triple-A Round Rock for prospect Justin Foscue, who’s hit .262/.383/.445 with 11 home runs in 84 games this season.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.