The Rangers announced this afternoon that they had placed the third basic player Josh Jung On the 10 -day injured list due to neck spasms. This decision is retroactive on March 29, which means that Jung will first be eligible for activation on April 7. Field Jonathan Ornelas was recalled from minors in a corresponding decision.
It is surely a frustrating turn of an event for Jung, because the 27 -year -old was trying to start a strong start this year after his 2024 season derailed with a fractured wrist on April 1 of last year. This year, he will not even go in April without being placed on the shelf. Also worrying a sign that it may be, all the indications of team officials suggested that Jung’s current illness is not particularly serious. As Shawn McFarland noted from Dallas Morning News, director Bruce Bochy told journalists that he expects Jung to only need a minimum stay on the injured list.
Jung’s last trip to the injured list does not seem particularly revealing of the gravity of his neck problem, because the club considers him as day by day as recently as yesterday (as Kennedi Landry of MLB.com noted). The decision to place Jung on the shelf, this seems not to arise from Jung’s injury, but rather from a public service problem Josh Smith suffers from. Smith was playing the third goal in yesterday’s match, but, as McFarland noted, left the match with a contusion in the left quad after stuck with the wall in foul -smelling territory. Smith is currently being considered day by day, but is out of programming today due to the problem.
With Jung and Smith for the moment, the Rangers have estimated that they needed to convert additional on the inner field, encouraging them to place Jung on the shelf so that they can bring Ornelas to the majors. The 24 -year -old has only 26 games to his credit in the majors in the past two years and offers few offensive upwards, but is a strong defender all around the inner field with the speed of stealing 15 bases in one season. Ornelas can fulfill a utility role for the club during Ezequiel Duran And (when it is good enough to return to the range) Smith Cover for Jung with the first goal.
Losing Jung, the club’s selection with the eighth choice of the first time in the 2019 draft, programming. The 27-year-old experienced a campaign in small groups in 2023 where he was appointed All-Star and finished fourth in the recruit vote of the year. Since the start of this season, Jung has reduced a solid .267 / .311 / .454 in 170 games in the majors and has taken a hot start this year with three strokes in his first seven at-bats. Fortunately, Smith should be a perfectly adequate replacement once he is back in alignment, because he had a season of Sami last year, reaching .258 / .337 / .394 in 592 trips on the plate while playing in a super-utility role. Smith’s versatility and solid bat has even earned him the Silver Slugger Prize for public services last year, and it should once again be used a similar role in 2025.
