Josh Jung Fractures Right Hand, Adding Another Brutal Chapter to His Cursed Medical Chart
MLB Trade Rumors reported the fractured right hand on Saturday.
There are injury-prone players, and then there is , a man whose skeletal system is apparently engaged in a multi-year protest against playing baseball. The third baseman just suffered a fractured right hand after taking a pitch to the knuckles, effectively ending his season and adding another brutal chapter to the most cursed medical chart in the league.
MLB Trade Rumors relayed the news on Saturday, confirming what every Rangers fan immediately feared when Jung exited the first inning of a 10-2 blowout loss to the . He is officially shut down until 2027, leaving a massive hole in a lineup that is already held together by athletic tape and blind hope.
If you feel like you have read this exact headline before, your memory is working perfectly. Jung fractured his left thumb in 2023, fractured his right wrist in April of 2024, and has previously dealt with a torn labrum, a stress fracture in his foot, and a strained calf. Manager Bruce Bochy once called his injury history buzzard's luck, but at this point, that feels like an insult to buzzards.
The timing is a disaster for a roster that currently looks like a triage center. With Joc Pederson also sidelined by a fractured hand and guys like Cal Quantrill and Cole Winn parked on the 60-day injured list, the are running out of warm bodies. Anyone looking at the betting lines for their upcoming matchups against the Twins has to factor in that is basically fielding a Triple-A squad by necessity.
When healthy, Jung is a cornerstone piece who transforms the middle of the ' order. The problem is that keeping him healthy requires a level of bubble wrap that MLB has not yet legalized for in-game use.
will try to salvage the rest of this weekend's series in , but the real focus shifts entirely to next spring. The have to figure out how to keep their star infielder on the field, or they will be spending another season watching him heal instead of hit.