ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Jung has resumed close to a full baseball workload, and the Texas Rangers may be able to shorten what is left of his rehab from a strained left calf, president of baseball operations Chris Young said Monday on 105.3 The Fan.
Getting Jung’s bat back into the middle of the order is what Young is after, and the offense has not been the same without it.
“Josh Jung’s making really good progress,” Young said. “He is doing just about all baseball activity. We’ve still got to pass some tests in terms of his sprint work and agility work, but by all accounts, he’s made real improvements here, and we’re excited that we can start ramping him up.”
“My hope is that because he’s been able to do baseball activity for a period of time, we may be able to accelerate things and cut off some days here as we approach the end of the month in August and the beginning of September, where we really, really need him,” Young continued. “I think we can all say our offense just hasn’t quite been the same since he went down. And so getting his bat back in the middle of the lineup would do wonders for us.”
Young addressed Jung in the same answer as right-hander Jack Leiter‘s biceps setback.
Josh Jung Has Not Played Since July 21
Jung’s last game came July 21 against the Chicago White Sox. He singled and scored in the third inning, then left the game and did not return.
Texas placed him on the 10-day injured list July 25, retroactive to July 22. He became eligible to come off it Aug. 1.
Jung was hitting .294/.361/.441 with 9 home runs and 35 RBIs in 92 games when he went down. His batting average ranked fourth in the American League at the time.
After about 10 days without activity earlier this month, Jung resumed jogging Aug. 18 and has taken part in defensive drills, according to MLB.com. He called his most recent MRI promising.
A low-grade strain in the same calf cost Jung roughly three weeks during the 2024 season.
Texas drafted him eighth overall out of Texas Tech in 2019. Jung made the All-Star Game as a rookie in 2023 and won the World Series with the Rangers that fall. He has played 417 games for Texas, batting .264 with 58 home runs and 196 RBIs, and he agreed to a one-year, $2.9 million contract for 2026.
Texas Rangers Offense Since Josh Jung Went Down
In the games through Aug. 22, the Rangers had hit .217 and averaged 3.14 runs per game since Jung last played, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Ezequiel Durán has taken most of the starts at third base in Jung’s absence. Durán hit his 15th home run of the season Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.
Texas ranks 18th in the majors with a .242 team batting average. The Rangers have hit 154 home runs, 17th in the majors.
Texas Rangers Open Series Against Athletics
The Rangers came home at 67-70 after taking Sunday’s finale in Milwaukee 7-4, which ended a four-game losing streak.
Texas ranks second in the American League West standings, two games behind the Houston Astros, with 25 games left.
Before Monday’s opener, Texas placed right-handers Peyton Gray and Cole Winn on the 15-day injured list and recalled two pitchers from Triple-A Round Rock.
The Rangers open a three-game series against the Athletics on Monday at 7:05 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field. Jacob deGrom starts for Texas. The game airs on Rangers Sports Network.
