CHICAGO -- Rangers third baseman Josh Jung began a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on Saturday, when he slotted in at designated hitter and went 1-for-3 with two RBIs in the Roughriders¡¯ win. He followed it up with three scheduled plate appearances on Sunday, going 1-for-2 in another win.
In total, Jung went 2-for-5 in the two Frisco games while rehabbing from neck spasms. Jung traveled with the Rangers to Chicago and should be activated on Tuesday before their game against the Cubs.
¡°I haven't had a chance to talk to him,¡± manager Bruce Bochy said Monday ahead of the Rangers' 7-0 loss to Chicago at Wrigley Field. ¡°I saw him in the clubhouse, and he looks like he feels good. He felt free and easy, swinging the bat and throwing. I did talk to our training staff, and they say he's good to go tomorrow. I'm assuming everything went well without talking to Josh yet.¡±
Jung dealt with neck stiffness during the last week of Spring Training and the staff kept him out of most of the final two exhibition games against the Royals at Globe Life Field. He returned for Opening Day, going 3-for-7 with an RBI over the first two games of the season against the Red Sox.
He ultimately left in the eighth inning of the March 28 win with neck stiffness after tweaking it while making a sliding stop on a groundout. Jung said he couldn¡¯t turn to the left without it hurting, which led to the injured list stint.
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 side wall one day after Jung's injury and the Rangers opted to call up another infielder (Jonathan Ornelas) from Triple-A Round Rock.
Tuesday is the earliest Jung could be activated, though he could¡¯ve been ready earlier.
The Rangers have done well without their All-Star third baseman, and came into Chicago riding a five-game win streak, which included a sweep of the Rays at Globe Life Field this past weekend. Smith -- who won a Silver Slugger Award at the utility position in 2024 -- has been one of Texas¡¯ more consistent hitters, with a .304/.429/.522 slash line through 10 games.
But the lack of offense finally caught up to Texas on Monday night.
The Rangers entered the game with an 8-2 (.800) record, the highest win percentage in the American League. That said, all eight of their wins have been decided by three runs or fewer. Their six runs in Saturday¡¯s win over the Rays were a season high, and the team OPS of .580 tops only the Braves in all of baseball.
Monday¡¯s loss to the Cubs was the first time Texas was shut out this season.
Bochy admitted again that the offense isn¡¯t quite clicking just yet. And while the Rangers have been able to come up with a big hit over the first two weeks, it¡¯s also not a sustainable way to play out the season.
¡°Like anything with hitting, it's about timing and the guys getting in their groove,¡± Bochy said. ¡°It¡¯s fair to say that we¡¯ve got some guys that haven't hit that groove yet. I'll keep saying it, they will.
¡°Meanwhile, we've got to do things like we've been doing. We gotta get runners on, find a way to get a run across the board. We've been doing that with our baserunning, our timely hits. We're not getting a lot of hits, but we have timely ones. This was just an off-night for all those things I'm talking about.¡±
No matter how good Smith has been, it goes without saying that getting Jung back would do wonders for the offense, especially in a situation where both Joshes could be in the lineup. Smith could play anywhere in the infield or outfield, if necessary, in order to get other guys days off.
¡°He¡¯s gonna be playing everywhere,¡± Bochy said of Smith. ¡°He¡¯ll be playing every position. I think it's important for me to find ways to get him in there, because of what he brings with the speed and the bat and the defense, especially.¡±