ARLINGTON -- Rangers third baseman Josh Jung is going on the 10-day injured list with neck spasms, Bruce Bochy announced on Sunday morning.
Jung was originally expected to avoid the injured list and only miss a few starts, with utility players Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran playing third base in the meantime. But then Smith sustained a left quad contusion after colliding with the foul wall in Saturday¡¯s win over the Red Sox and the Rangers opted to call up another infielder (Jonathan Ornelas) from Triple-A Round Rock.
¡°With Smitty not ready to go, we had to make a move with JJ,¡± Bochy said. ¡°He may get three or four extra days than the minimum, where he would be ready, but maybe that¡¯s a good thing. We want to get this thing cleared up [with Jung] since it¡¯s a recurring issue now. We¡¯re hoping Smitty can go tomorrow.¡±
Bochy said that the Rangers expect Jung to miss around the minimum amount of days, but they will continue treatment and check in on him over the next week and a half.
Jung left in the eighth inning of Friday night¡¯s win with neck stiffness after tweaking it on a sliding stop on a groundout.
During the final week of Spring Training, Jung dealt with neck stiffness that kept him out of most of the final two exhibition games against the Royals at Globe Life Field. But he remained ready for Opening Day, going 3-for-7 with an RBI over the first two games of the season.
Bochy said that Jung is going to need ¡°a few days¡± to get it calmed down. He¡¯ll have Sunday off as they continue treatment and go from there as the team heads to Cincinnati for the first road trip of the season.
¡°It just flared up on him [on that] backhand play last night and then the throw he made the first inning, too,¡± Bochy said on Saturday. ¡°The spasms just got to the point where we had to go get him.¡±
Injuries have plagued Jung throughout his professional career. In 2024, he missed the majority of the year with a fractured right wrist after being hit with a pitch just four games into the regular season.
Jung slashed .266/.315/.467 with 23 homers in his first full big league season in 2023, but he missed six weeks with a fractured left thumb.
His big league debut was also delayed due to a slew of injuries in the Minors between 2021-22. As the club¡¯s top prospect, Jung sustained a stress fracture in his left foot going into Spring Training in 2021, then tore the labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder while lifting weights during camp in ¡®22. He ultimately did not make his MLB debut until September of that year.