Jung shut down, will have wrist inflammation checked out
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MILWAUKEE – The Rangers’ offensive reinforcements may take a few more days than originally expected.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said on Tuesday at American Family Field that Josh Jung is heading back to Texas to get checked out and “make sure everything’s fine” with his surgically repaired right wrist. General manager Chris Young followed up and noted that he is dealing with a bit of “tendon inflammation” just above the surgical site.
“It's really related to the buildup and the overall lack of strength,” Young said. “Obviously, it's natural to understand that he's not going to be at full strength. He started his baseball buildup and irritated the tendon a little bit. We think we got the best-case-scenario news today and that it’ll calm down with a little bit of time and rest, at which point in a few days we can evaluate and determine what the best way to build him back up is.”
Jung went 4-for-17 with five strikeouts in four rehab games with Triple-A Round Rock, but the Rangers shut him down shortly thereafter after he reported soreness in his wrist.
Jung was originally scheduled to take batting practice on Monday and face live pitching on Tuesday in Milwaukee, but he did neither before leaving to get checked out. Bochy said nothing got worse, per se, but they want to make sure he’s fully OK before bringing him back into the fold at the big league level.
Bochy said it’s possible that Jung rejoins the big league club as they head to Baltimore, but Young said that timeline may be “ambitious.”
“To think that from major surgery like this, that he wasn't going to experience some level [of setback] -- I mean if everything went perfectly, he may have been back by now,” Young said. “This is a little hiccup. Our expectation is we can get this under control in the next few days, and then hopefully, I don't know what the timeline will be because I'll let the medical team determine what the next steps are in terms of safely building him up and making sure that this is not a lingering issue.”
Jung sustained the fractured right wrist when he was hit by a pitch during the Rangers’ 9-3 win over the Rays in April. He had surgery in Phoenix the following day on April 2. The surgery was successful, but the wrist had a bit more extensive damage than originally expected, prolonging the original timeline.
In his first four games of 2024 before the injury, Jung went 7-for-17 with two walks, one double, one triple and two homers.