Josh Jung’s sore calf kept him out of the Seattle series, and may keep him out of the upcoming homestand
Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung missed all four games in Seattle due to calf soreness, and per the beats, the Rangers are considering the possibility of putting him on the injured list due to the issue lingering.
Its the latest issue in what has been a frustrating year for Jung. He spent 10 days on the injured list early int he season due to neck spasms, then was sent to the minors for roughly three weeks at the beginning of July to essentially re-set after a lengthy difficult stretch at the plate.
The timing of this is especially unfortunate, as Jung has hit well since returning from the minors, slashing .367/.424/.567 in 33 plate appearances, albeit with 10 Ks. In addition, Evan Carter was placed on the injured list over the weekend with back spasms, so the absence of Jung weakens the lineup that much more.
Jake Burger, who was placed on the injured list over the All Star Break, spent Saturday and Sunday on a rehab assignment with Frisco, and could be activated if Jung were to go on the injured list. However, its worth noting that Cody Freeman — who was playing his first game in the outfield as a professional yesterday for Round Rock — was pulled from the game after just four innings, which suggests that Freeman may be getting called up.
The question is whether Freeman would be brought up because Burger needs a little more time on his rehab assignment, and thus would only be up a couple of days before Burger replaces him, or if the Rangers want to add both Burger and Freeman to the active roster. Freeman, who caught in the minors from 2021-23, gives the Rangers someone as their emergency third catcher who actually has catching experience, and if Bruce Bochy wants to use the currently very hot Kyle Higashioka as a DH more often — particularly against lefties — Freeman would be a useful bench guy to have around.
Of course, its also possible that Freeman strained something, or didn’t run out a ball, or was just pulled as a precaution in case he was needed in the majors, not because a callup was imminent.
If the Rangers opted to both activate Burger and call up Freeman, one of the current non-catcher bench guys — Rowdy Tellez, Ezequiel Duran and Sam Haggerty — would have to go. Haggerty has established himself as the center fielder against lefthanders and a late inning pinch hitting and running option for Bochy. Tellez has his well — .320/.357/.560 — in 28 plate appearances since being called up to replace Burger, but it is only 28 plate appearances, and unless Burger is sitting against righthanded pitchers, the lefthanded hitting Tellez doesn’t really have a path to regular plate appearances. Duran, on the other hand, essentially duplicates what Freeman does, except he doesn’t catch.